16 Jul 2020

Minister of Youth Empowerment Sport and Culture Development, Tumiso Rakgare, says that the  Rakops Mini-stadium will promote intra and inter district sporting competitions.

Rakgare said during the ground-breaking ceremony of the mini-stadium in Rakops on July 14 that hewith such a facility, the district had the potential to produce world class athletes.

He indicated that Boteti region had a potential to produce talent across a number of sporting disciplines such as athletics, netball, football and volleyball.

The P5 million facility  was intended to facilitate talent identification and nurturing.

The amount, he however said, was not sufficient to cover all the components of the facility as originally planned. 

He, therefore, urged the district leadership to find alternative sources of funding such as the constituency fund to augment the allocated funds.

Further, Rakgare said that the construction of the facility would create job opportunities for the communities of Boteti Sub-district. As such, government found it fitting to construct 10 sporting facilities throughout the country, and Rakops was chosen as one of the beneficiaries.

Minister Rakgare stated that the facility would have a perimeter wall enclosing six hectors, a football pitch with an artificial turf, an athletics track with compacted soil, volleyball and various other courts.

The project, he said, was aimed at providing decent sport facilities to the rural, semi-urban communities, where there is shortage of facilities.

Rakgare stated that the people of Boteti would benefit in many ways as a result of the project, citing employment opportunities during construction.

The project, he said, was in line with government commitment to diversifying the country’s economy.

For his part, senior assistant council secretary, Milton Keitshokile stated that geotechnical investigations were done last year to pave way for designs.

Keitshokile said that the project was awarded to two contractors, adding that the boundary would be completed in December, while change rooms would be completed in January next year.

Boteti Sub-district  chairperson, Molemi Galeragwe hailed the project, saying it would benefit the community of Rakops, especially the business community. ENDS