Olympic relay team yet to receive their dues
Botswana’s 4x400m men’s relay team members are yet to be handed houses, which they were promised by the government following their impressive showing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The team made of Isaac Makwala, Baboloki Thebe, Bayapo Ndori, Leungo Scotch, Zibane Ngozi and Anthony Pesela made history in Japan winning a bronze medal in the 400m relay finals which was the country’s only medal at the games.
The performance marked a historic moment as the bronze medal was also Botswana’s first relay medal win. As if that was not enough, the team recorded a new African record of 2:57:27, dethroning Nigeria who set the record with a podium finish in 2004.
Upon return from the games, the government pledged to give a house to each of the six team members for their historic achievement.
While the pledge was hailed as a good gesture by many, athletes are yet to receive keys to their new houses, three months since the announcement.
The delay has raised a few eyebrows since it was previously said the houses were readily available.
However, in an interview with Voice Sport, Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) Chief Executive Officer, Tuelo Serufho, said athletes will receive their houses before the end of this month.
“They will soon get their houses; this month won’t elapse before we hand over the houses to the athletes. We are winding up the process of procurement as well as changing ownership to their names,” Serufho said.
On Monday during the State of Nation Address (SONA), President Mokgweetsi Masisi stated that his government has rewarded each team member with a house unit worth P450 000, translating to a cumulative cost of P2.7 million.
In September, the relay team was also rewarded by Choppies with an amount of P300 000 with each team member walking away with P50 000.
