Indoor sports arena remains a pipe dream
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday February 7, 2020 11:34
One of such projects was the construction of an indoor sports arena at the Botswana Netball Association (BONA) courts.
When officially opening the games, President Mokgweetsi Masisi announced the government’s commitment to building a multi-sport indoor facility at BONA courts.
Two years after the Games, the project has not seen the light of the day. Africa Union Sport Council (AUSC) Region 5 projects and marketing manager, Siyabonga Sangweni told Mmegi Sport he was in the dark regarding the the project’s progress.
“The Region 5 Youth Games Gaborone 2018 Local Organising Committee (LOC) had presented plans and the budget part was not clearly defined where it was going to come from,” Sangweni said. He said the LOC operations budget was housed at Botswana National
Sport Commission (BNSC), adding that AUSC Region 5 secretariat was not aware if all the money was exhausted.
The LOC chairperson, Labbeaus Peloewetse told Mmegi Sport that they had preliminary drawings for the proposed facility and they hope by sharing them with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development (MYSC), the project would be given priority in the budget.
“The plan was for the Youth Games to leave behind a legacy in the form of a sport facility. We handed over the surplus from the Games funds of around P4 million to the Ministry and that money is to assist in the project,” he said.
Peloewetse said they are still following up some countries that owe participation fee.
He said it is up to the government to prioritise the project. He said they had recommended that it should be included in the current budget.
He mentioned that he was not aware of the timelines for the project. According to information reaching this publication, Angola owed participation fee, but have since paid.
Mozambique is contesting the amount they have to pay because they changed the size of their team.
It is said that the changes were made after the deadline and the matter is still to be resolved by the Region.
Another country that still gives the LOC a run around with payment is South Africa.
Efforts to contact AUSC Region 5 chief executive officer, Stanley Mutoya were fruitless as he was out of the country. MYSC permanent secretary, Kago Ramokate said the project remains a commitment of the government.
He explained that they have to wait for the Ministers Committee Supply Speech for an update on MYSC projects.
Meanwhile, the Games LOC handed sport equipment worth P3.78 million to 10 sporting codes that participated in the Games.