28 Nov 2019

The Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development will develop 10 mini-stadia in 10 localities including Kanye North.

The Minister, Mr Tumiso Rakgare told Parliament that the scope of the mini stadia included boundary wall, kiosk, changing rooms, ablution facilities and a pitch with artificial turf.

He said the project to develop sport complexes was discontinued due to budget limitations noting that their maintenance had also proved to be very high. “The option of developing mini stadia is less costly, provides basic sports facilities and has low maintenance costs,” he said.

He told Parliament that the development of the mini-stadium in Kanye was delayed by unavailability of the land but noted that the plot had since been made available.

Giving a brief background, Mr Rakgare said during NDP 8, the government had plans to build sport complexes in district headquarters of which some were built in Molepolole, Maun, Serowe and Masunga. He said other facilities including one planned for Kanye were deferred indefinitely due to financial constraints. He said in 2018, the government took a decision to develop 10 mini stadia to improve access to facilities across the country. 

Kanye North MP Mr Thapelo Letsholo had wanted to know when the long-promised Kanye stadium would be built and the scope of the facility as well as key delivery dates.

He also wanted to know what prompted the option of a stadium versus a sport complex as in other villages in Botswana and what had been the cause of the delay. ENDS