Cabinet approves National Sports Reward Policy

WINDHOEK, 06 JUL – The National Sports Reward Policy has been approved by Cabinet following marathon consultations.
The announcement was made by Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Stanley Simataa on Thursday following Cabinet resolutions taken on Wednesday.
The document provides guidance on how to reward Namibian athletes who put up stellar performances at local and international events. Funds for this purpose will be provided by the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service through the Namibia Sport Commission (NSC).
The document which was drafted by the Sport Ministry and the NSC, was made available to Nampa by the Information Ministry.
The policy covers preparation by athletes, participation and rewards for athletes who have won.
Speaking at the media briefing, Simataa said the policy will help eliminate previous mistakes whereby athletes were promised rewards by Government but would only receive the rewards after prolonged periods.
“Previously Government also struggled to reward these athletes after having made promises prior to their participation. That was not good enough and defeated the whole purpose of motivating these athletes,” he said.
Simataa said the rewards will be for amateur athletes only as professional athletes are paid through a different system.
“Regardless of that, if Government feels professional athletes have done well, we will not shy away from rewarding them,” he added.
The document covers competitions like the Olympics and Paralympics, world championships, Commonwealth Games, All Africa Games, African Championships and Special Olympics.
The rewards differ from competition to competition and by age group.
Individual athletes who win gold medals in both the Olympic and Paralympic games will receive N.dollars 200 000, while silver medallists will receive N.dollars150 000 and bronze medallists, N.dolllars100 000.
Similarly, the coaches of these athletes in the two categories will get N.dollars 80 000 (gold), N.dollars 60 000 (silver) and N.dollars 40 000 (bronze).
Team sports will also be awarded accordingly, the document said.
Those that win gold medals will receive N.dollars 800 000, with the coaches receiving 400 000.
Silver medallists will receive N.dollars 500 000, while the coaches get N.dollars 200 000.
Bronze medallists will get N.dollars 350 000, with the coaches getting N.dollars 100 000.
For preparation, teams will get as much as N.dollars 120 000, while the coaches will receive N.dollars 24 000 a month.
Individuals will get N.dollars 60 000 for preparation, with coaches getting N.dollars 12 000 a month.
(NAMPA)