The Sunday Mail
Tirivashe Nheweyembwa – Sports Correspondent
GOVERNMENT has shown its commitment to the growth of sport through various interventions and policies over the past 35 years.
Without the Government support most of the success that Zimbabwe has enjoyed on the international front would have remained unfulfilled dreams.
While admittedly a lot still needs to be done President Mugabe’s Government needs to be lauded for supporting sport.
However, the same kudos cannot be directed at the country’s sports administrators as they have been found wanting on several occasions.
The Government of Zimbabwe has since 1980 been giving prominence to the education sector and this has seen the country having the highest literacy rate in Africa.
Now individuals in the sports sector, like any other sector, also have to undergo the learning process in order to manage their affairs in a better fashion.
Amid ever-increasing cases of poor administration of sport, questions which may spring to one’s mind include:
◆ Do we have sport literate people managing sport or we have people who have an interest in sport that have sadly been entrusted with managing our sports?
◆ Does the sports sector value education as a means of enhancing the delivery system?
These and many other questions tend to put the sports sector in the spotlight given the usual boardroom squabbles that have characterised some of the sporting disciplines of late.
While addressing participants at a football CAF B coaching course in Harare recently the Sports and Recreation Commission director-general Charles Nhemachena highlighted that sport can meaningfully contribute to the well-being of the society.
“This is only possible if we continually develop and upgrade our capacities through such training initiatives as this one,” said Nhemachena.
Renowned educationist Professor Caiphas Nziramasanga says sport needs to be professionalised if it is to contribute effectively to the success of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset)
“Sport has evolved over the years into one of the major disciplines of study and as such the approach to it has to be professional as opposed to the current scenario where almost all the 48 registered national sport associations operate like briefcase companies,” said Professor Nziramasanga.
A respected sports consultant highlights that Zimbabwe has produced top-notch sport administrators in its 35-year history.
“Examples of those that have made it at the highest level include Tommy Sithole, formerly with the International Olympic Committee; Robert Mutsauki, formerly with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa; Elias Musangeya, now with the UK Sport but formerly with the SRC.
“What needs to be appreciated is that sport is not yet a top priority even in financial decision making at Government level, because resources for sport are made available at the last minute or a few days into some of the programmes.
“This makes us look disorganised in the eyes of many,” he said.
As Zimbabwe celebrates its Independence leaders in sport need to clean their act and do more to convince Government to increase its funding towards sport.
If those at Treasury view sport only as a pastime activity, surely it will not be prioritised against other pressing demands like the need for clean water, medical drugs in hospitals and infrastructural development.
Are our city fathers aware of the role of sport in bringing about social cohesion?
If so why are they turning playgrounds into residential stands like they did in Chitungwiza?
The future of sport is in our hands Zimbabwe!
◆ Tirivashe Nheweyembwa is a corporate communications officer at the Sports and Recreation Commission but writes in his personal capacity.
