Ugandan Olympic gold medalists to get $1,419.8 monthly salary

KAMPALA, Uganda

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday announced that athletes who earn the country a gold medal at continental, commonwealth or Olympic games will be paid a monthly salary of USh5 million ($1,419.84).

Ugandan gold medallist Peruth Chemutai.

Mr Museveni said silver medalists in any of the three categories will each earn USh3 million ($851.90) per month while bronze medalists will be paid USh1 million ($283.97).

The President also pledged a vehicle for each of the medalists and a house for their parents.

The vehicles that were given to Uganda's Olympic medalists by President Museveni on August 11, 2021.

"I made an order in 2013 that anybody who wins gold at a continental level, commonwealth or Olympics should be paid USh5m per month all the time and USh1 million for silver and bronze. It was not honored...I was told they are being paid quarterly.

"I didn't say quarterly. I speak English very well. All their arrears will be paid. ...what they should have been paid. And because I'm now a happy man. I will give each of these medalists a car. I will build for their parents a house each," Mr Museveni said as he received Joshua Cheptegei, Peruth Chemutai, Jacob Kiplimo, Halima Nakaayi and Winnie Nanyondo among other Olympic athletes who returned from Tokyo, Japan.

“And because I'm now a happy man because of the medal I will give each of these medalists a car. I will build for their parents a house each," he added.

Mr Museveni also chided critics who reportedly said Uganda earned the medals at the Olympics by a miracle.

Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei celebrates after winning the men's 5000m final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on August 6, 2021.

According to the president, some of the reasons Uganda performed well and got medals at the Tokyo Olympics and the other sporting events in the recent past was because of the peace and Universal Primary Education (UPE) ushered in by his government.

However, Chemutai told the president at the event that she dropped out of senior one because she lacked fees to continue with secondary education.

But Mr Museveni attributed her failure to continue with secondary education to technocrats who reportedly failed to implement the Universal Secondary Education (USE) programme 'properly'.

“I read an article recently saying that it was a miracle for Uganda to win medals...because Kenya spends USh450 billion on sports, while South Africa spends over Ush200 billion and that in Uganda we spend about Ush18 billion. This was not a miracle.

"The fact of the matter is that Uganda is uniquely endowed by both the natural resources and the human resource. The unfortunate thing is that some people don't see this and they are trying to mess up some of the endowments like the environment,” he said.

According to the President, there are no longer conflicts in the Ministry of Education and Sports following the appointment of the First Lady, Janet Museveni as the Minister of Education and Sports.

“In the past, they used to have a lot of conflicts in that ministry. But I hear it’s now quiet,” he said.