African Games: Medal haul would cost govt Shs3bn annually

President Yoweri Museveni has since time immemorial rewarded Uganda’s medalists at the international levels with money, houses and cars among other things.

While athletes have usually complained about delays of some of these rewards or even some never seeing the light of day, the conversations, promises and expectations have never gone away.

In fact in Article 5) of the New Sports Act 2023, the government committed to establishment of a National Recognition and Reward Scheme as shown below.

(l) There is established the National Recognition and Reward Scheme which shall be a scheme of Government to recognize and award outstanding and deserving sports personalities who bring honour to Uganda.

The law instructs the Minister of Education and Sports to consult with the ministers of Finance and that of Public Service to, “by statutory instrument, prescribe the awards, including monetary payments, pension and gratuity that may be awarded to the sports personalities” under the scheme.

When the football teams were flagged off for the African Games on March 3, State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang told the players to “force the government to set your lives straight. These Games, just like the Commonwealth and Olympics are recognized by the government in a way that if one wins gold, they return a monthly stipend of Shs5m per month for life and a house.”

Although the policy statements are yet to drawn and ratified, at that dinner at Imperial Royale Hotel, National Council of Sports (NCS) general secretary Bernard Patrick Ogwel, told the gathering, on prompting from the Minister that “Shs2bn” had been budgeted for the Scheme in the 2024/25 budget.

The players indeed heeded to the advice and a look at the ‘20’ medals won by Uganda at African Games shows NCS could have under budgeted. The 20 is just a count of disciplines because Uganda had some team medals won in basketball, cricket, 3x3 basketball plus both men and women’s football and rugby.

Badminton star Husnah Kobugabe and weightlifter Davis Niyoyita received more than just one medal each and would be within their rights to expect a stipend for each.

Mathematics takes the medal haul to 23 gold medals, which if each attracted Shs5m would cost the government Shs1.3bn per year in stipends.

The 25 silver medals that came through Entebbe Airport would cost the government Shs900m at the proposed Shs3m per player per month while the 52 bronze medals would cost Shs624bn.

In total, the government would need to part with Shs2.904bn before it builds houses for the 23 athletes that won gold. And the total could yet grow as this is an Olympic year and Uganda has a couple of medal hopefuls for Paris 2024 later this year.

Medals

Gold -4

Silver – 6

Bronze – 10

Proposed monthly stipend per medalist

Gold – Shs5m and a house

Silver – Shs3m

Bronze –Shs1m

Medalists

Gold: Gladys Mbabazi & Husnah Kobugabe (badminton doubles), Charles Kagimu (cycling), men’s rugby (10 players), women’s rugby (10 players)

*For 23 players, the government will fork out Shs115m in total per month at a stipend of Shs5m per player. That is Shs1.380bn per year before they can build them houses

Silver: Peruth Chemutai, Halima Nakaayi (athletics), Husnah Kobugabe (badminton), men’s football (20 players), Davis Niyoyita (two medals)

*For 25 medals (if Niyoyita is paid separately for each silver and Kobugabe is paid for her silver too), the government will fork out Shs75m in total per month at a stipend of Shs3m per player. That is Shs900m per year.

Bronze: Josephine Lalam (athletics), Fadilah Shamika (badminton), 3x3 basketball (five players), Innocent Tumusiime, Kasim Murungi, Muzamir Semuddu (boxing), Cricket Cranes (20 players), women’s football (20 players), Davis Niyoyita, Gloria Muzito (swimming)

*For 52 medals (if Niyoyita gets paid for his third medal too), the government will fork out Shs52m in total per month at a stipend of Shs1m per player. That is Shs624m

Total in stipends would be Shs2.904billion