Track and field coach Henk Botha has criticised the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC), the Region 5 Youth Games organisers, for planning a training camp in Botswana ahead of the competition, which is set for early July.

Describing the decision as ridiculous, Botha accused officials of prioritising travel allowances over practical preparation.

He argued that training should take place in Namibia to cut costs, especially given the frequent complaints about a lack of funding. “When money is available, it’s wasted on unnecessary planning,” he said.

The training camp is planned from 1 to 3 May 2025, the team will depart on 30 April and return on 4 April 2025.

NSC representative Givean Samulandela defended the decision, explaining that Namibia has a Memorandum of Understanding with Botswana, facilitating the arrangement for nearly 240 athletes.

“We aim to give our athletes a competitive edge. Botswana performed well at the Olympics, and we want to expose our athletes to higher-level competition,” Samulandela stated.

He added that, as part of the exchange, Botswana’s athletes would also visit Namibia before the games.

As it stands, 10 countries will participate in the games, host Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

–lmupetami@nepc.com.na