19 Sep 2013

Residents of Palapye have appealed to the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Shaw Kgathi to consider building a stadium in Palapye.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting addressed by Minister Kgathi in Palapye on September 17, one resident, Thabo Dimeku said Palapye had started hosting some be Mobile Premier League games as such needed a stadium.

Dimeku said Swallows ground, which was used for hosting the premier league games did not have a proper pitch and fence. In addition, he decried lack of support for constituency tournament by Botswana Football Association (BFA).

Another resident Leokana Bogatsu said Palapye did not have the infrastructure which the youth could use for sports and recreation. She decried lack of sporting grounds as a hindrance to the development of sports in Palapye, saying the sporting facility at Palapye community hall was underutilised because the youth could not afford to rent the facility. She said the courts were rented at P300.

Palapye Administration Authority chairperson, Onneetse Ramogapi thanked BFA for taking some premier league games to Palapye despite the fact that there was no stadium in Palapye. Ramogapi said that gave Palapye residents the opportunity to watch the premier league games nearer without having to travel to Gaborone and Molepolole.

Ramogapi also stated that it would boost the economy of Palapye. For his part, Minister Kgathi said locking the gates to prevent the youth from accessing the sporting facility at the community hall was not welcome as this would lead the youth to engage in alcohol drinking and criminal activities.

He said Palapye had the best halls which could be used by the youth for aerobics and traditional games. On other issues, Minister Kgathi asked parents to take responsibility of their children and give them the support they needed.

He said parents should show their support by helping the youth establish business projects and also advise them accordingly so that they would not abandon their projects. He also requested parents who owned houses in the villages to rent them to the youth at an affordable fee because some youth projects were failing as a result of high rentals.

He also raised a concern for moral decay saying that parents should also help mould their children.Ends