State pays

 By LUKE KAMA

THE Government lived up to its promise of cash rewards for Team PNG athletes who competed at the Pacific Games with the release of K6.6 million yesterday in Port Moresby.

Sports Minister Justin Tkatchenko confirmed the payment while on a school visit in his Moresby-South electorate yesterday.

It is expected that the PNGOC will have the payments processed and paid through the athletes’ accounts over the next few days. Gold medallists, either in a team or an individual, will be paid K20,000 each; silver medallists get K10,000 each and bronze K5000. 

The non-medal winning athletes get K2500. 

Tkatchenko said the money was paid to the PNGOC because it had the capacity to better handle the funds and distribute effectively and efficiently.

The body worked since the Games ended on July 18 to gather athletes’ account details in order to facilitate payments once the state released the money.

Tkatchenko said the money was within the 2015 Pacific Games budget as promised by the government to provide cash incentives to the athletes who participated at the Games.

“The government is committed to supporting sports in the country and I thank our athletes for the job well done,” Tkatchenko said.

“Our athletes have sacrificed their time and resources to bring national pride and the government values their time and commitment.”

“For a team that has won a gold, all the team members in the team receives K20,000 each and the same applies to silver or bronze medal winners as well,” Tkatchenko said.

Tkatchenko said some of the 3000 volunteers who had called for payment for their services had completely missed the point of volunteerism and he described the request as “stupid” and making no sense.

“If they wanted to get paid after volunteering then why did they volunteer in the first place? Why did they sign up to become volunteers?”