Caption: Sports Minister Justine Tkatchenko
By MATTHEW VARI
Sunday, September 6, 2015 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)
AFTER the success of Team PNG in the Pacific Games in July, the National Government came through to its commitment to pay athlete incentives by September with Sports Minister Justin Tkatchenko announcing the delivery of K6.6 million to the PNG Olympic Committee (PNGOC).
The funds will be distributed to pay the incentives that were promised for the gold, silver, bronze medals, and all athletes that participated in the 15th Pacific Games.
“As per the Prime Minister’s commitment he made to the athletes just after the games. All participating athlete in the games will receive their funding as well as K2,500 each for those who did not get medals. That was all factored in,” Minister Tkatchenko said.
“The government has stood by its commitment to recognize and award those athletes that won medals in the games as well as those that participated.”
“I am pleased to say that the funding has now gone over today to the PNG Olympic Committee for them to administrate and distribute the funding accordingly to the athletes that were awarded the different medals and those that participated at the games.”
He said that the onus was now on the PNG Olympic Committee to distribute funds to the athletes in a timely manner.
“Hopefully the PNG Olympic Committee will work on getting the funding out ASAP to the appropriate accounts and details of all the athletes.”
“I believe in the last couple of weeks the PNG Olympic Committee has been acquiring all the appropriate account numbers and details of all the athletes involved in the pacific games.”
The Sports Minister also reiterated that all medal winning team would receive cash incentives for each team member.
“Those teams that won gold medals that won gold, silver, or bronze, all will get the incentive individually,” Tkatchenko explained.
He also added that the delivery of funds was the last of his duties as the minister responsible for the Pacific Games- adding that all organizations associated with the staging of the event were to be dissolved into the PNG Sport Foundation.
“This is the last outstanding role that I have to play as Sports Minister for Pacific Games in respect to the PGA (Pacific Games Authority), and the Pacific Games Committee are now all winding down over the next three months before the end of the year,” he added.
“By the end of these year all those organizations will be absolute and everybody’s roles in there will have finished.”
“All assets and other things will come back to the PNG Sports Foundation under the control of the CEO, Peter Tsiamalili and the board of the PNG Sports Foundation to represent at other events.”
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