Tumiso Rakgare

"The BFA is playing with fire. I'm not concerned about any individual football leader, but rather about the sport itself. Football has given me so much in life, and I believe that it can continue to benefit many people in the future."

"However, the current leadership of the BFA is not interested in managing football in a way that will have a positive impact on others. They are arrogant and self-serving; what BFA is doing is clearly 'mantlwane' and 'botlhoka tsebe' (circus and indiscipline), and their actions need to stop."

"To that end, Botswana and other African countries continued to invest in digital development and Internet connectivity to empower youth and give them an opportunity to lead."

"We need the Internet to make our services more accessible and we need to change our mindset to believe in ourselves as Africans"

"Athletes, go out there and do your thing."

"I hope you haven’t forgotten our deal. The houses are ready for you to bring those medals home."

"Those who have qualified have been getting P8 000 each per month and they will be getting P30 000 each before they leave. Daily rates and incentives rates have also been increased."

"It is on that note that we must hasten to applaud the sport leadership on a job well done in identifying and nurturing the talent that resulted in this team before us today. That being said, we would be remiss if we did not mention the support of all those who have come aboard as sponsors, investing in the team and its pursuit of excellence. This is a first for our Botswana Olympics Team and it must be recognised."

"In addition to this, our media partners also benefit from the commercialisation of sport. High profile sports stories help to attract audiences, listeners and readers. In turn, the media makes sure that sport maintains a high profile."

"Paris, a city that symbolises history, culture, and innovation, is the perfect backdrop for these Games. It is a city that has also taken a leading role in addressing one of the most critical challenges of our time climate change through the Paris Agreement."

"These and others, provide a broad framework for a conducive environment and strategic direction towards fostering culture as a vehicle not only for change, but for socio-economic development as well."

"This entails undertaking research and documentation of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), which if properly done, will result in the effective transmission of our local culture, and a better appreciation of other cultures in the vicinity."

"There is also Makosho trees, which are found in Lecheng thus distinguishing the village from other localities within the country."

"Research shows that many languages have become extinct around the world. In Botswana, we should guard against this happening."

"This will ensure better learner-teacher interactions and, over time, potentially transform the education system in Botswana as more and more communities continue to invest heavily in the teaching and development of their own community languages."

"He had promised that once they set up the committee, they would get in touch. Since then (March), they have not reverted."

"If you believe someone is corrupt and you want to investigate and possibly prosecute, you must demonstrate some level of agility."

"If you were listening to Parliament, these guys ridiculed me, embarrassed me, and portrayed me as a criminal. I have never stolen anything from anyone. I want these guys to set up this committee. My expectation is that by now they would have set up the committee. It's clear that they were misinformed and clueless. There were some serious distortions."

"The first few months of my arrival, there was a COVID-19 pandemic. I believe the pandemic assisted me in quickly understanding the programme of the ministry because I had ample time to read and learn more about the ministry. I also looked at the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) and the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC). After appreciating MYSC programmes, I met with some former athletes such as Diphetogo Selolwane, Isaac Makwala, Glody Dube, and Nijel Amos. That was a time when we were preparing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics."

"The voting that took place in Cairo was regressive."

"As Botswana we challenge anyone to show us a better bid book than ours for 2027 perhaps taking out Algeria who had withdrawn before the elections."

"Once we were in Cairo, in the morning of the congress we learnt that CAF had now resorted to voting on the day of the announcement."

"The decision by CAF to us was not good as the original idea but come election day, we learnt every bid country would have the opportunity to be voted for regardless of how they faired in the auditors’ report."

"When we were in Ivory Coast where there were elections, voting was done in front of us and counting was also done openly and we knew how everyone performed."

"I had a meeting with some members of the BFA National Executive Committee (NEC) and conveyed my reservations regarding the way in which some of the things at the association are done. I believe they took note of my concerns because I can see that there are positive changes."