The Sunday Mail
Makomborero Mutimukulu Sports Editor
EVER wondered if the individuals we see representing Zimbabwe on the sporting arena are indeed the best that the country has to offer? How many times have you mused over why we fail to produce a man or woman – apart from Kirsty Coventry – who is able to win an Olympic medal when there are more than 14 million of us in this land? Well, an investigation into how Zimbabwean national teams are selected, instituted by the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, might have part of the answer for you.
It’s a corrupt world.
Favours – including sex – are traded behind the scenes and when show time comes we shout in support of athletes who made Team Zimbabwe through unorthodox means. Such sleaze, sources say, saw the country sending injured athletes to last year’s All-Africa Games.
While a final report is yet to be compiled, the Ministry of Sports and Recreation will soon unveil a national team selection policy as part of a raft of measures aimed at addressing such anomalies.
A senior official involved in the investigations described the sports sector as rotten. “It smells to high Heaven,” she said. “We make noise about corruption in other sectors but I bet you this does not compare to what is experienced in the sports sector.
“In most cases talent alone is not enough for one to make the national team. Those with money, those well connected and those willing to offer their bodies get the nod ahead of talented and principled athletes.” Sports and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane (pictured) was not keen to discuss “a report that is yet to be finalised”.
“It wouldn’t be proper to go into detail on that matter but, yes, there are some worrying practices that have been noted in the manner in which we select Team Zimbabwe,” he said. Hlongwane believes the recently-approved Sports and Recreation Policy will go a long way in bringing sanity to the sporting sector.
“Very soon you are going to see a very clear selection policy for Team Zimbabwe. How do we get an athlete to be a member of Team Zimbabwe? That is an area that has a lot of corruption; we are going to attack that area,” he said.
“A lot of national associations have not had a relationship with Government for a very long time and have been doing whatever they want. When Government comes in to try and regulate and direct they feel Government is intervening too much.
“I must also say we are not going to shy away from doing that because we are certainly not happy with issues around selection of Team Zimbabwe, we are not happy about how some associations are run. “We are going to take bold action, very bold action even if it means it puts us at risk of being suspended for a moment.”
For instance, junior national rugby and cricket teams have become the preserve of a few elite schools. Youngsters who are promising but are in “wrong schools” are urged to transfer so as to enhance their chances of making the national teams.
