The National Olympic and Sports Committee (RNOSC) has announced a Rwf 900 million budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, a substantial increase from Rwf 390 million spent during the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The budget was announced during the RNOSC’s Ordinary General Assembly held on Saturday, April 3. The budget increment was, according to the Olympic Committee, affected by the fact that a big number of Sports activities were halted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Presenting the budget plan, the Olympic Committee revealed that about 50 per cent will be spent on activities related to supporting athletes in different Olympic activities, most importantly the upcoming Olympic Games slated in July in Tokyo Japan. As a result, part of the budget worth Rwf 181 million will be allocated for the Tokyo 2020 Games while the Olympic Committee will take Rwf 100 million from the budget as part of the funds being mobilized to purchase new offices to pave way for the upgrade activities expected to start at the stadium in few months. The budget could increase if the Olympic Committee successfully secures the grants promised by its partners and sponsors. “There are high chances that the budget could even go beyond the announced amount if the grants promised to us are availed on time,” said RNOSC President Valens Munyabagisha. The Olympic Committee has not been specific about the resources needed to buy its own offices but, once the office is secured then they will relocate from its current base at the National Amahoro Stadium in Remera. The new offices will not only be a new home for the Olympic Committee but it could also accommodate a number of sports federations that don’t have their own offices. To date, only the Football governing body (FERWAFA), and the Basketball Federation (FERWABA) have their own offices. “We will look into the possibility of how the new offices will be profitable to not only us, the Olympic Committee, but also member federations which are unable to afford offices yet,” Munyabagisha told the General Assembly.
