Jacob Kelebeng

"Our artists should not be limited by geography."

"We must take full advantage of digital marketplaces, streaming services, and international festivals."

"Artists are businesses. They must be recognised and supported as such."

"We have identified grassroots development as a key priority area, recognising it as the foundation for long-term growth and success in both sectors. To this end, the ministry has, upon its inception in November 2024, set its sights on ensuring the return of school sport and arts as an inextricable component of grassroots development. From the onset, MoSA have always known and appreciated unions as critical stakeholders and custodians of teachers rights. It is for this reason that we engaged them in earnest on the matter of school sport at the beginning of 2025."

"We are building a Botswana that will be a global hub for sports, culture and the creative industries."

"We want these associations to be professional, manage things well and not damage the confidence that the private sector has. I am going to talk to these associations very soon. We are addressing all the problems and I hope once we meet with the associations, they will understand the vision that we have for our sport."

"We must build an ecosystem where Botswana’s stories are told by Batswana, produced by Batswana, and exported to the world."

"The feedback from today’s discussions will be taken seriously, and we will report back soon."

"I spoke to them. We had to wait for the event (World Relays) to pass. It was not about payments, but more to do with their welfare. They are concerned that they are not getting the attention they deserve when it comes to preparations. Payments also come late. We promised that we are going to improve our communication."

"We have realised that local athletes experience breakdowns after winning and getting money."

"Some derail and use money unwisely."

"We need to engage athletes and national sporting associations on welfare issues and take this matter very seriously."