President Yoweri Museveni has said that Ugandan sports men and women who finish on the podium (1st to 3rd) in major events will start earning monthly salaries from the government.
President Museveni revealed this development on Wednesday,12th August while addressing the Ugandan contingent that returned from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics that came to a close last weekend.
Among other officials, the President was flanked by Minister of Education and Sports and First Lady, Janet Museveni in an event held at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala.
Among other issues, the President said that podium finishers at Olympics, Commonwealth Games and at continental level (Africa Games) will receive monthly salary going forward with the gold medalist earning Shs5 million, silver medalist earning Shs3 million while bronze medalist will be taking home Shs1 million monthly.
“I made an order in 2013 that anybody who wins gold at a continental level, Commonwealth Games or Olympics should be paid Shs5m per month all the time and Shs1 million for silver and bronze. It was not honored. I was told they are being paid quarterly. I didn’t say quarterly. I speak English very well. All their arrears will be paid… I’m now a happy man and you know happy men can be generous,” President Museveni said adding that
Tokyo silverware winners Joshua Cheptegei (gold in men’s 5000m and silver in men’s 10,000m), Peruth Chemutai (gold in women’s 3000m steeplechase) and Jacob Kiplimo (bronze in men’s 10,000m) were the highlight of the day and were the reason for the celebration.
Meanwhile, the above Tokyo silverware-winning trio was each given a car as well as the President promising to build a house for the parents of the gold medalists.
The President added that Uganda’s success in Tokyo is because the nation is uniquely endowed by both the natural resources and the human resource. He however noted that a lot needs to be done by various stake holders to uplift sports in the country.
The President lauded the winners plus all participants for promoting their nation abroad as we hinted on the aspect of sports tourism.
Ugandan athletes will resume hunting for silverware at a bigger stage at next summer’s Commonwealth Games slated to run between July and August in Birmingham, England.
