Friday, February 7, 2025

Public primary schools are without sporting facilities

By Duncan Kgangkenna

Sports development from grassroots level has been a song every sport leader sings with passion and enthusiasm.

Local sporting bodies have been advocating for the facilities to be developed in order to achieve excellence in the world of sports.

It has emerged that in Botswana government primary schools have got no sporting facilities across the country.  Assistant minister of Local Government and Rural Development revealed the sad reality in parliament on Monday.

Member of Parliament for Francistown East, Buti Billy has asked the minster whether she is aware that sporting facilities in primary schools are dilapidates.  In answering Tshireletso stated that there are no facilities at primary schools. “As far as I am concerned, there are no sporting facilities in primary schools that are deemed dilapidated” note Tshireletso.

She told parliament that there are twenty (20) primary schools in city of Francistown and the sporting activities in the primary schools are for sporting activities such as soccer and netball. “The sports grounds surfaces are natural earth in nature. As such, the surface preparation is generally by grading” explained Tshireletso.

She noted that all the primary school playgrounds were graded from the 3rd to 28th January 2019 and another schedule will be drawn from 2019/2020 before April 2019.  She further explained that the Francistown City Council attends to any maintenance request when need arises.

Billy had also wanted to know why the ministry cannot reticulate recycled water in Francistown to irrigate sporting grounds in primary schools. Assistant minster Tshireletso informed parliament that there is no plan to recycle and reticulate water for irrigation since the grounds are not turf covered.

Botswana Primary Schools Sport Association (BOPSSA) has been pleading with government to make good/develop the facilities at primary schools to nurture and develop kids while young.   Sport science is advocating for development of athletes at young age so that when they are at junior schools they can do the basics well if properly developed.

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