The Minister of Youth, Sport, Gender and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare has rapped the local media for what he perceives as negative reporting around the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals bid.
Speaking during an event to launch the bid logo at Lekidi Centre this afternoon, Rakgare expressed disappointment with media that is critical of the bid.
"Some write that we need P10 billion for the bid, but without backing it up with facts. Let us not distort facts. As Batswana, this bid is ours, it is not for (President) Masisi. It is for everyone. We are all going to benefit," Rakgare said.
Responding to an inquiry on who designed the AFCON logo, Rakgare said it was included in the cost of the bid book. South African consultants, Ruben Reddy Architects were paid P61 million to compile the document.
"It (the logo) was part of the P61 million paid to the consultant. The consultant engaged professionals who came up with this beautiful logo," he said.
Rakgare said while people are entitled to their opinion on the P61 million paid to the consultant, they should, however, "stick to facts".
"I will be listening to the radio and following the stories this week. I want to see positive issues. I don't know what you were going to write if you were in Cameroon (which hosted the last edition of the AFCON finals), as there were a lot of issues there. You can't be negative all the time. If we lose this bid because of the negative issues that you write, you are going to regret it," Rakgare said.
