30 Aug 2021

Parliament has commended the Under 20 athletics team that recently participated in the World Athletics Under 20 Games held in Nairobi, Kenya.

The team brought home three gold medals and one silver with Botswana ranked 7th overall ahead of countries such as Sweden, France, Cuba, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium and Canada.

Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Mr Tumiso Rakgare told Parliament that the team also returned home as 400m championship record holders, 100m national record holders and a world leading time in the men’s 4x400m relay.

The team comprised 13 athletes who competed in 100m, 200m, 400m as well as 4x100m and 4x400m relays.

Furthermore, Mr Rakgare briefed Parliament that government through Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) spent a total of P314 000 on the team’s welfare, covering full boarding accommodation, camp allowances, COVID-19 tests, meals, medical needs and other contingencies.

However, he said the amount did not include air-tickets and other expenses incurred whilst the team was still in Botswana preparing for Nairobi.

Parliament also learnt that the Paralympics team made up of two athletes was currently in Japan where the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games kicked off on August 24 with the curtain coming down on September 5.

Meanwhile, Mr Rakgare stated that the team’s preparations for the competitions were affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 and as a result of disruptions to camps and training for the Tokyo bound team, it was decided that athletes should continue to receive daily local camping allowances even after camp was called off.

He said each athlete received P7 500 and an additional food hamper valued at P2 200 was given to each athlete that should have been on camp. Each athlete further received an allowance of P8 333 upon qualification for the Olympics while camping allowances were increased from US$40/P400 to US$60/P600 while the teams were in Tokyo.

That, he said, was done to ensure that all athletes’ welfare needs were met. The minister further said that government continued to implement the Incentives and Rewards Policy by extending appearance fees to athletes. In accordance with the policy, each athlete was paid P2 000 per appearance for athletics and boxing and P1 500 for Paralympics, swimming and weightlifting.

“As a way of appreciating the team for qualifying for Tokyo, government spent P555 000 on rewards. Each athlete received P25 000 and the coaches were rewarded with P10 000 each,” he stated.

Mr Rakgare said the ministry implemented the Incentives and Rewards Policy to reward Team Botswana’s good performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“In that regard, the two athletes who reached the finals in their events will receive P5 000 each while those who won the bronze medal will get P50 000 each, and P20 000 each for setting a new African Record,” he said.

He added that government would spend a further P3.9 million in securing houses to reward the 4x400m bronze medallists from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Mr Rakgare commended private entities such as Mascom Wireless, Debswana and First National Bank Botswana for supporting government, adding that would improve the competitiveness and medal chances at forthcoming competitions.

The minister also acknowledged sport administrators, medics and coaches for guiding and motivating the athletes during the challenging time of COVID-19. He also stated that to further sustain the performance, the ministry was striving to develop appropriate programmes and suitable infrastructure.

He said the country needed sports academies and at least one high performance centre to continue improving athletes’ performance. ENDS