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.
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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.