Rewards still on the table

Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) chief administrator Freddy Mwiya says the cabinet-endorsed rewards policy will be implemented, despite the sports ministry only receiving N$286 million from the 2019/20 national budget, which is N$2 million less than last year.Mwiya said he has not received any communication that the rewards policy is off the table.“The rewards policy was endorsed by cabinet; it is now up to us to promote it and for them to source the funds,” said Mwiya.He said the budget cut has now pushed them to regroup and plan to defend their initial submission, which might convince the finance ministry to reconsider their allocation.“Despite the fact that we really have a great proposal, we have yet again gone back to engage the Brave Warriors as well as the national rugby side, in order for them to help us by giving us exact figures and details of expenses that they need to cover for their planned competitions.“We went back to them because they are the ones who have big competitions this year.“We want to ask finance whether the teams should go ahead and compete. If the answer is yes, then they should provide those funds,” Mwiya stressed.The Warriors are gearing up for the 2019 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) which will take place in Egypt in June, while the national rugby side will take part in the 2019 Japan Rugby World Cup in September. Some of the other major competitions lined up are the Total African Nations Championship qualifiers and the All-Africa Games for which close to 50 local athletes have qualified.Preparations are also ongoing for 2020 Tokyo Olympics.The athletes need funds to prepare for these competitions, and if they excel, the rewards policy must come in to play, which provides guidance on how to reward athletes who put up stellar performances. BreakdownThe rewards policy applies to athletes who win medals at Olympic or Paralympic Games for seniors, world championships, world senior championships, the Commonwealth Games, the All-African Games, African championships (seniors), African senior championships and the Special Olympics World Summer and Winter Games.For gold, silver and bronze medals at the Olympic or Paralympic Games, athletes will receive N$200 000, N$150 000 and N$100 000, respectively, while the coaches will receive N$80 000, N$60 000, and N$40 000, respectively.For the world championships, gold medal winners will take home N$100 000, while a silver medal will net N$80 000 and a bronze N$50 000, and coaches receive N$50 000, N$30 000 and N$20 000, respectively.A world senior championships gold medal will earn and athlete N$30 000, while N$20 000 and N$15 000 will be dished out for silver and bronze medals, and coaches will receive N$10 000, N$8 000 and N$5 000, respectively.A Commonwealth and All-African Games gold will earn an athlete N$80 000, while N$60 000 and N$40 000 will be given for silver and bronze medals, respectively, and coaches will be rewarded with N$35 000, N$25 000 and N$15 000, respectively. African championships winners will get N$50 000, while N$30 000 and N$20 000 will be paid to silver and bronze medal athletes, and coaches will get N$20 000, N$15 000 and N$10 000, respectively. Special Olympics World Summer or Winter Games athletes will be rewarded with N$40 000 for gold, N$30 000 for silver and N$20 000 for bronze. The coaches of winning athletes in the same competition will get N$20 000, N$15 000 and N$10 000, respectively.The policy also includes looking at awarding preparation grants to coaches and athletes. Grants of N$5 000 per month are also included for individual athletes who have qualified for the Commonwealth Games, All-Africa Games, African championships and world champs. For preparations for the Olympic or Paralympic Games, world cups, world championships, All-Africa Games and African championships, senior teams will get N$1 million.LIMBA MUPETAMI

Rewards still on the table

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-01

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Rewards still on the table

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-01

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