WINDHOEK – Special Olympics Namibia has a new board, following its annual general meeting held last month.
Hanna Garises is the chairperson of the board, which also consists of well-known radio Jazz presenter and medical practitioner, Dr Kagiso Moloi, Peter Wilson, Isack Hamata, Esther Nilenge, Deon Namiseb, Sydney Goagoseb, John De Voss, Irwin Haihambo and Ayesha Wentworth. The new board members will serve a nine-year term. “This is perhaps the strongest team we could put together to further the objectives of Special Olympics Namibia. The members’ experience and proven leadership, as well as their vast interest in the Special Olympics ideals, will definitely serve the organization well,” the new chairperson, Garises said.
In tune with the international Special Olympics agenda, Special Olympics Namibia aims to bring public attention to the talents and capabilities of people with intellectual disabilities, helping to change attitudes and break down barriers that exclude them from the mainstream of the community. The movement runs several programmes around the country to focus attention on the plight of people with intellectual disabilities and one of the immediate and key focus areas for the new board is to select a national team and adequately prepare it for the next Special Olympics World Summer Games slated for Los Angeles, California (USA) in 2015.
The 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games will feature world-class competitions in aquatics, gymnastics, track and field, football, basketball and many other summer sports. In the meantime, New Era Sports has established that the presence of Dr Kagiso Moloi, could come back to haunt the movement. The likeable dentist is deemed ineligible to serve on the board as prescribed by the Namibia Sports Commission Act of 2003, which states in part 25 that a person may not hold office as a member of the executive organ of a national sports body or national umbrella sports body if such a person is not a Namibian citizen.
By Staff Reporter