- Vice President Slumber Tsogwane among dignitaries he met
- Sports minister Tumiso Rakgare sits on WADA Board
- Banka’s farewell statement: “Thank you for your commitment to clean sports”
GAZETTE REPORTER
The president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Witold Banka, visited Botswana last week to familiarise himself with how the country is operating its anti-doping process.
Banka is on a visit to the Southern African region that includes meeting with high-ranking sports and government officials in Botswana to commemorate the establishment of the National Anti-Doping Organisation and the National Anti-Doping programme.
He exchanged notes with the Minister of Youth, Gender, Sports and Culture Tumiso Rakgare, who is a member of the WADA board. Banka also met with Vice President Slumber Tsogwane.
Meet-and-greet
To honour his visit, the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) and the Botswana Anti-Doping Committee organised a meet-and-greet for Banka to talk about the success, challenges and overall picture of anti-doping in Botswana.
Banka took the chance to urge anti-doping organisations and sports associations to cooperate in and create avenues for supporting athletes to commit to clean sports.
The WADA president emphasised the importance of educating more athletes about anti-doping regulations so that they do not violate the rules in the future. He stated that athletes need to be sensitised about the anti-doping programmes to maintain ethical standards in the world of sports.
Intensive meetings
Banka made a statement about his satisfaction with his stop in Botswana. “Over the past two days, we had a series of intensive meetings and discussions about anti-doping with our partners in Botswana,” he said in the statement.
“In addition to the government authorities, we spoke with various stakeholders. We also had productive discussions with the BNOC’s Athletes Commission and representatives of some sports federations.
“It was a pleasure to meet with the Honourable Slumber Tsogwane, the Vice President of the Republic of Botswana and Honourable Tumiso Rakgare, Botswana’s Minister of Youth, Gender, Sports and Culture, to speak about the anti-doping challenges and opportunities there. Thank you for your commitment to clean sports.”