28 Jul 2024

Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture through National Anti-Doping Coordinating Office (NADCO) has applied for support from UNESCO to develop an anti-doping policy to assist implement the envisioned Act so as to ensure compliance with responsibilities under international codes and instruments.

Botswana National Olympic Committee senior vice president, Tshepo Sitale said this at the Anti-Doping policy development consultative meeting in Gaborone on Saturday.

“For purposes of fulfilling obligations under the UNESCO Convention of 2005, government is currently developing an anti-doping act and the policy will serve to operationalise it,” he said.

The policy, he said would therefore help to harmonise, coordinate and deliver effective anti-doping programme to prevent intentional and unintentional doping.

By ratifying the UNESCO Convention of 2005, he said government agreed to implement the code and to abide by the tenets thereof.

Currently, he said the only instrument that related to anti-doping activities was the Botswana Anti-Doping Rules, which were not enough to sufficiently and effectively embed anti-doping activities in sport, which was at risk from doping activities.

Sitale said it was important that members were informed on anti-doping matters especially those that concerned them so that they could operate effectively in line with the rules and support athletes meet their responsibilities under the code.

 “We need active participation in this exercise from national federations as the policy is for them and they need to own it,” he said.

National Anti-Doping coordinator, Fred Seno said government was committed to safeguarding the integrity of sport, protection of clean athletes and competitions.

“Government of Botswana has established the National Anti-Doping Coordinating Office (NADCO) and is currently developing a law that will guide anti-doping activities in Botswana,” he said.

Botswana, he said had signed the Copenhagen Declaration on Anti-Doping in Sport of 2003.

Further, he said Botswana had also ratified the UNESCO International Convention against doping in sport in 2009.

By ratifying the convention, he said states parties formally declared commitment to the pursuit of clean sport based on the principles set out in the World Anti-Doping Code.

Seno said to achieve the purpose of this convention, states parties undertook to adopt appropriate measures to promote the prevention of and the fight against doping in sport, with a view to eliminate doping.

University of Botswana head of Sport Science, Dr Dawn Tladi said an anti-doping policy was long overdue, given that a number of athletes had been sanctioned for doping.

Dr Tladi said UB‘s Department of Sport Science was a consultant of the policy, adding that they had a team of qualified personnel to assist accordingly.

She said it was important for stakeholders to undertake collective responsibility to ensure that athletes competed on a level playing field where success was determined by talent, dedication, hard work and not illicit substances. Ends