Special Olympics to meet MoE over inequality
Sport
Frustrated officials of the ailing Paralympics Sport of Botswana (PASOBO) have come out of their shade and made known their grievances, following their team’s good performance at the world games. They recently requested to meet with the Minister Of Education & Skills Development Unity Dow to resolve their agitations.
The Special Olympics team last month performed wonders, considering the state of the fraternity locally when they won 20 medals at the world games in the USA. In the 2011 Greece games, they managed only 13 medals.
During their welcome ceremony last week Thursday, the Chef De Mission to USA Ross Tebele, took advantage of the event, and approached Minister Dow to appoint for a meeting with her to discuss their grievances.
Speaking to WeekendSport on the sidelines of the ceremony, Tebele said they are not equally treated by the Ministry compared to some of their counterparts.
“We want the Minister to be aware that 95% of our athletes are in government schools, so automatically we fall under school sports as a result they should fund us like they do others, ”Tebele said circuitously referring to sister associations, the Botswana Primary School Sport Association (BOPSSA) and Botswana Integrated Sports Association (BISA) who are said to be benefitting financially from the Ministry while PASOBO only get feeding.
Sentiments from Tebele are shared by many within the Special Olympics as they lament mostly about inequitable treatment they get compared to their peers as group code. Team coach and the association mouthpiece, Botshelo “Fire” Mogotsi said “we should be treated equally like other codes” continuing to add that “infrastructure is in dire state such that we don’t have other codes like softball.”
Currently PASOBO has only five codes being football, volleyball, swimming, marathon and athletics. They are eager to accommodate more sporting codes to compete internationally.
The association received a grant of P250 000 from the now Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) which is less than what BISA receive, but they contend that they deserve more since they work with athletes with special needs.
According to Mogotsi, they have tried to meet with various stakeholders like the Ministry of Youth Sport and Culture (MYSC) and MoE to inform them about their bellyache but in vain.”We failed to meet them and we only rely on NGO’s and other stakeholders but still it’s not enough as we have events that need funding,” the outspoken Mogotsi stated.
Dow assured the association that her door is open and she is ready to meet them. “Thank you Mr Tebele let me promise you that we are ready to engage with you to resolve the matters you are grappling with,” she promised. However the association is yet to write a letter to appoint with the Minister on when to dialogue, but they revealed they would meet with her “very soon as they have just arrived from the games”.
The team left for USA amid excitement following the appointment of Brightfield Shadi as the representative of the African continent. Of the games that competed, swimming, marathon and athletics were on fire as they salvaged more medals. The next games will be the 2017 winter games in Austria unfortunately Botswana will not compete as there are currently no ice games played locally.
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Sport
AFRICA’S RECOVERY: Sports as game changer
The year 2022 witnessed unprecedented phenomena. Several Africans- Gotytom Gebreslase, Sharon Lokedi, Victor Kiplangat, Tamarit Tola and many others- swept the World’s marathons records.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting control measures implemented in several countries, led to many high-level sports competitions being cancelled or shelved, the Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games was moved to 2026.
Founder and Executive Chairman, African Sports and Creative Institute, Will Mabiakop, says the inability to hold traditional and amateur sports events have had a serious effect on public health overall, including mental health, sparking a revolution whereby athletes began to talk more openly about stress, mental overload and performance anxiety.
“Africa is home to the fastest growing economies before the crisis, no longer on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). COVID-19 deepened interdependence between SDGs, making them harder to achieve, especially SDG 10 (reducing inequality) and SDG 5 (gender equality_ as the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on poorer countries, and heavier burdens (such as care work) fell to women.”
Mabiakop stresses that as policymakers contemplate actions to speed up recovery and build resilience, they must argue that sports and creative businesses should play a central feature in this effort.
“The sports economy worldwide is estimated at 5% of GDP, but only 0.5% in Africa. If exploited, Africa’s sports and creative industries can offer policymakers innovative solutions. Especially, as regards job creation, and providing employment to the 15 million people entering the job market annually.”
HOW CAN THE INDUSTRY DO THIS?
By leveraging the two-for-one concept: past studies shown that a 1% growth in the economy delivers a 2% job increment in this sector (these ratios are calculated using data from 48 African countries and adjusted to the reality of the sports economy in Africa by the authors). There are between 30 and 50 job types, in sports and creative industries, respectively. These jobs do not fade away with the first major shock.
Mabiakop indicated that policymakers can use these industries to tackle multiple crises- jobs, poverty, and climate risks. Sports diplomacy- defined as communication, representation and negotiation in or through the prism of sports- has proven effective in building inclusive and cohesive societies. Moreover, sports and the creative industry can support better mental health and well-being, both important for productivity.
“Policymakers can also be true to the game by leveraging culture and tradition to celebrate identity and reap commercial value in sports, textiles and jewelry. Creative sectors allow deeper connection with culture, are not easily copied and provide great economic potential.”
He said supporting grassroots sports has powerful distributional effects. “Fortunately, technology has made reaching wide audiences easier, generating higher rates of success when talent is discovered.”
However, Mabiakop held that potential pitfalls must be highlighted. “First avoid build it and they will come policies with infrastructures denuded from the rest of the ecosystem. Like the many sports stadiums left largely unused.”
“Policymakers must remain mindful of how these sectors move the needle in human capital development. Also, align the requisite public policies needed for progress from grassroots participation to professional sports, and even to international sporting events. They should also support investment instruments to render these sectors performant.”