Letsile calls for better treatment
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday September 23, 2023 06:00
Speaking during an appreciation ceremony for the Botswana team that competed at the recent World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Tebogo emphasised that athletes should receive recognition and support not only when they achieve victory. “Even during our downfalls, we should be supported. Athletics is difficult and some of the athletes are depressed.
The support I am talking about should start at club level,” he said. Tebogo further stressed the importance of financial support during the preparation phase, citing the pressure athletes face in striving to secure medals in upcoming competitions.
Team captain, Zibani Ngozi, echoed these sentiments and expressed his desire for sports leadership to gain firsthand experience of the challenges faced by athletes during championships. In response to these concerns, the Minister of Youth, Sport, Gender, and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare, affirmed that efforts are underway to provide support for athletes at the club level.
“I spoke about that issue during the Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) general assembly that athletics should be recognised in a special way. We should try our level best to support athletics from clubs but we cannot do that with other sporting codes because there is no funding. But athletics deserves support from clubs,” Rakgare said.
He said that there are indications that sports grants may be increased in the 2024-2025 financial year. He highlighted that, as a member of the executive branch, he does not need to address sports funding matters in Parliament directly. “When our 4x400m relay team came back with a bronze medal from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, I did not go before Parliament for them to be allocated houses, we just gave them houses. It is the same Cabinet that we approached to say we needed to review our rewards and incentives policy.
If it was before, you could have been given P50,000 for your bronze but now you received houses worth P550,000 courtesy of your government,” he said. Rakgare expressed optimism that, with an increase in funding, in conjunction with private sector support, the sports sector will witness enhanced performances.
He said that athletes who have qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, including Tebogo, Leungo Scotch, Bayapo Ndori, Tshepiso Masalela, and Collen Kebinatshipi, are entitled to a monthly upkeep allowance of P8,300 until the Olympics. Rakgare also noted that national team allowances for Olympic preparations have been raised from $30 (around P400) per day to $60 (about P800).
“We started during the Tokyo 2020; that just for qualifying, each individual receives P20,000 as a token of appreciation from government. We are trying as a government, we can only do that much for now,” Rakgare said.