Staff Reporter
AS the main sponsor of Disability Sports Namibia (DSN), NamPower has resolved to award the Paralympic athletes that represented Namibia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games for their performance.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NamPower, Fritz Jacobs, announced that the silver medallist Ananias Shikongo and his guide will be awarded N$150 000 each and bronze medallist Johannes Nambala will receive N$100 000.
The rest of the athletes that also represented Namibia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games will be awarded N$25 000 each and the coaches, Michael Hamukwaya and Letu Hamhola, will receive N$30 000 each.
“The athletes have proven themselves among some of the world’s best athletes and NamPower is proud to be associated with such a great team of athletes,” Jacobs said.
Except for the coaches who will receive a once-off payment, the athletes’ award monies will be paid out monthly over the next two years, starting at the end of April.
This, Jacobs stated, is to prevent the mismanagement of funds, and to ensure that athletes will be able to afford day-to-day necessities, as well as training equipment and travel to training facilities.
According to him, this will assist with preparation for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris as well.
The head of the NamPower Foundation, Otilie Mujoro, also praised the athletes for making a name for Namibia at an international level and stated that these achievements are not only evidence of their commitment, but also of NamPower’s “support impact”.
She said NamPower became the main sponsor of DSN in 2011 and has spent more than N$10 million on DSN activities since then, and more than N$2,8 million in the 2021/2022 financial year.
Michael Hamukwaya, the Secretary-General of the Namibia Paralympic Committee (NPC), thanked NamPower, stating that “it shows that it is not only about the rewards, but you are understanding the struggle that the athletes goes through throughout the years because receiving money in one go, tomorrow it can be gone”.
He further called on corporate Namibia to support the athletes as well as they face distinctive challenges.
