The Sunday Mail
Petros Kausiyo
Sports Editor
AFTER years of poor administration that saw the Sport and Recreation Commission losing some of its authority, the Commission is now reconstructing its image.
The SRC is not taking any prisoners.
The Commission has since warned errant associations that are non-compliant to corporate governance that they need to shape up or face the music.
The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) and the Zimbabwe Netball Association (Zina) are reportedly not in good standing with the Commission.
The Commission is also rebranding the Annual National Sports Awards (Ansa).
An awards gala was recently held in Harare. lt brought back some of the glamour that had vanished under the weight of the controversies that were stalking the Ansa.
Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister Kirsty Coventry, her deputy Tinoda Machakaire, permanent secretary Thokozile Chitepo and the chairman of Africa Union Sports Council Region 5 Vetumbuavi Veii were some of the guests at the awards night at Manna Resorts.
During the event, the Commission revealed that it was not amused by the conduct of some sports associations.
Commission chairman Gerald Mlotshwa told guests that they are now strict on compliance with corporate governance tenets.
The regulatory body is also trying to assist associations to market themselves and improve on their general operations. Mlotshwa said although his board had only been in office for eight months, they hit the ground running in their pursuit of rebranding the Commission and turning around the country’s sport.
Compliance with corporate governance has been identified as one of the key pillars to achieving those goals.
“These awards are hosted every year by the SRC as part of its statutory mandate.
“Apart from honouring exceptional performance across the various sporting disciplines, the awards also act as a barometer to measure our standards at various levels of sport competition, thus allowing for structured identification of strengths and weaknesses in the sport delivery system,’’ Mlotshwa said.
“The SRC is focusing on the transformation of Zimbabwean sport. In this respect, a national sport strategy will be unveiled in due course, after consultations with all the key stakeholders.
“Sport should be run commercially so that it contributes towards the development of the economy.”
The Commission’s boss also said they will not brook corruption, controversies and incompetence.
“lt is critical to ensure that sport is run by efficient, transparent and accountable national sports associations. Regrettably, and at present, this is not the case in several instances.
“Incompetence, downright corruption and other criminal activities are rampant in the administration of some of our key sporting disciplines. It is for this reason that some of these non-compliant associations have not been invited to this event,” Mlotshwa said.
“In the future, the SRC may decide not to accept any nominations from the national sports associations that are in breach of their own constitutions.
“This may sound like an extreme step as it may prejudice the sportspeople that fall under those associations, but we believe that there can never be any gain without pain.
“Much will depend on what the SRC achieves in the next coming days and weeks with regards to some of these sporting associations that behave as a law unto themselves.”
Mlotshwa said there is urgent need for a paradigm shift if sports associations are to reap rewards from the rapidly growing industry.
“Sport is a business. It must attract sponsors, not charities. No respectable company will choose to soil its brand by associating with controversial sports teams.“The SRC is mandated to foster corporate governance within our national sports associations so that they cease to drain the national fiscus. Rather, they should contribute to it meaningfully. This will be good for the game, and ultimately for the sports people.
“At the SRC, we do not take sponsorship for granted. lt is the lifeblood of sport,’’ Mlotshwa said.
SRC director-general Prince Mupazviriho also weighed in, saying they will be engaging sports associations on the corporate governance issues. “We will not hesitate to crack the whip when the calls for compliance are ignored.
“We need to turn the sport and recreation sector into a thriving economic zone that can attract investment. While the investment might initially be small, we will get there soon.
“Stakeholders should not spend time on retrogressive squabbles,’’ Mupazviriho said.
