Paris 2024 Olympics: Botswana asks citizens to pay to reward its medal-winning athletes

Botswana won its first gold medal in athletics at the Paris Games, thanks to Letsile Tebogo in the 200m. To celebrate the champion and the silver medal in the men’s 4×400, the government declared a half-day public holiday, and also invited citizens to donate money to reward him.

Botswana welcomed its first ever Olympic gold medallist as a hero, Letsile Tebogo, who won the 200m at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Thursday, August 8. That afternoon was declared a public holiday, as was the following day. When the 21-year-old arrived at the airport in the capital Gaborone, he was met by hundreds of fans and traditional dancers. But a government proposal put a damper on their celebration.

On August 12, the Botswana government issued a statement celebrating the athletes’ success “exceptional”who also won silver in the 4x400m relay in athletics. A few lines further on, the government announces the creation of a fund to “to facilitate financial contributions to reward the outstanding performances of the Botswana team”. And to quote the account number in order to be able to make a transfer, which can be “individual or for the whole team”the press release states. “Any contribution, big or small, will make a difference in supporting our athletes.”

This immediately caused a reaction from Internet users, who did not fail to point out the absurdity of the situation. “It’s totally useless”complains a Facebook user. “We are already suffering, some have empty stomachs. We cannot do it.” “We already pay taxes, that is our contribution”replies another Internet user.