13 Jun 2021

Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture Development, Tumiso Rakgare, says his ministry has succeeded in negotiating with government for the return of sporting activities.

Speaking at a ground breaking ceremony of the P5 million Tonota sporting facility on Friday, Rakgare said only sporting activities affiliated to the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) would be allowed to resume.

The new sporting facility that would include a football pitch, athletic track, volleyball and netball pitch as well as changing rooms and a kiosk, was aimed at achieving prosperity for all in the sporting industry.

Government recogniseds the role played by the sporting industry, hence continuing constructing sporting facilities across the country, Minister Rakgare said.

He said it was evident that sport had created employment for some Batswana and the Tonota sports complex would do the same.

Three companies engaged in the construction are Key Water Enterprise, Jims Links and Mosate Consortium Construction.

Key Water Enterprise and Jims Links had been contracted for building the stadium wall while Mosate Consortium Construction would build changing rooms and other logistics.

Minister Rakgare advised the companies to commit to work and deliver the project on time and within budget, further warning them against abusing workers by paying them ‘peanuts’.

“We don’t want this project to be delayed because your workers protested over wages,” he added.

He said funds for the project were not enough and thus appealed to the village leadership to look for other sources of funding such as the Constituency Fund.

However, Minister Rakgare advised that upon completion, residents should make optional usage of it to create employment and diversify the economy.

“We want to see this facility producing athletes of note,” he said, further advising the village leadership to establish a sport committee that would ensure full benefits of the facility and proper maintenance.

For his part, Tonota MP, Mr Pono Moatlhodi warned the contractors not to abandon their work and complete the project on time and within budget.

He also appealed to the project supervisors to ensure that contractors use the right materials.ENDS