The Sunday Mail
GOVERNMENT is crafting a sports policy but requires the support of all stakeholders in pulling the “heavy weight” of sports development in the country.
This was revealed by Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Andrew Langa during a National Sports Convention hosted by the Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) in Harare last week.
The three day event ran under the theme: “Sport Reflects Society-Think Globally”.
“We have five roots to a successful sport in any society,” he said.
“The first one is the sports policy. Our Government has started, through my ministry, to craft a sports policy for our country. The second one is the commitment by Government to provide resources for our sports. If we do not do so then we should not expect the corporate world to come and assist sport when we have not done so as Government.
“The third one is the support of the corporate world. The fourth one is well focused national associations to ensure that we can build sport in the country.”
The need for patriotic coaches, who can drive sport development was noted by Minister Langa as the fifth root of success.
“There is no way we can build sport without the support from citizens. We can go on and on to criticise ourselves, criticise our national boards, our national associations but what we need to do is to support them to work better.
“It is better to give constructive criticism to the boards or national associations rather than to give criticisms that are meant to destroy our national associations,” he said.
A Cuban sports expert and BUSE sports science lecturer Juan Alfonso Prendes reckons Zimbabwe needs to make physical education in schools compulsory.
In an interview on the sidelines of the convention, Prendes noted that the administration of local sport is poor.
“Physical education in Cuba is mandatory from six years up to university.
“It is completely practical with nothing done in theory.
“We do not have natural resources like gold, copper and diamonds as Zimbabwe, the economy is bad but we do better than you in sport because we have better organisation.
“I have been to several sports conferences here in Zimbabwe, people talk but I do not see the action from top to bottom,” he said.
