Africa-Press – Botswana. Sport, arts and culture contribute 2.1 per cent to the country’s Gross Development Product (GDP) as per 2021 data from Statistics Botswana, Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Mr Tumiso Rakgare has said.
Responding to a question in Parliament from Selebi Phikwe West MP, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse, Mr Rakgare said currently sport was employing about 1 657 people.
The minister said there were currently 480 professional athletes mainly from the football premier league as well as 16 international professional athletes in diaspora.
He said due to lack of sponsors for respective leagues, national sport associations were struggling to organise league competitions.
“The situation was compounded by the outbreak of COVID-19 as the corporate sector revenue declined and could not sponsor sport,” he said.
Furthermore, the minister said currently only Botswana Football Association had leagues that were running with the premier league for men, national league for women, First Division (North and South) and regional leagues.
In instances where there were no leagues, Mr Rakgare said there were tournaments that were organised by various national sporting associations to ensure that athletes got competitive playing time.
Regarding the earnings of professional players, Mr Rakgare said the athletes usually signed individual contracts with their employers or teams.
He explained that in the context of Botswana, professional players were those who earned a minimum of P3 000 per month.
Government’s role, he said was to create a conducive environment for the corporate world to invest in sport and assist sport development by sponsoring leagues, national teams and clubs.
He also said government provided an annual subvention to Botswana National Sports Commission to facilitate international participation in major competitions and the general development of sport.
“Government also motivates athletes and volunteers that contribute to the development of sport in Botswana.
Government has incentives and rewards for national team athletes, whose implementation started in 2012.
The ministry also assists in negotiating sponsorships for sport from the private sector, and has been successful on many instances,” said the minister.
The minister also said the private sector was a key player in developing sports through sponsorships, partnerships and endorsements.
“Over the years, companies such as Debswana have sponsored Botswana Athletics Association, which continues to do well in international completions.
Other companies such as Botswana Telecommunications Corporation, Orange Botswana, First National Bank and Mascom Wireless continue to urge the business community to invest in sport,” he added.
Mr Keorapetse had asked the minister to brief Parliament on his ministry’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), total number of jobs created, number of professionals in Botswana and the diaspora, state of leagues earnings of professional players and the role of the state and private sector. in such.
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