Those who have been entrusted to run and keep an eye on the internal affairs of Special Olympics Namibia must be smoking their socks – or what in the world makes them think they are beyond reproach?
It looks like some officials that accompanied our Special Olympics team to the World Summer Games in Los Angeles, United States, have taken their eyes off the basics of sports administration.
Some of them are now more preoccupied to be showered with praises, paddling on the back of Ruben //Gowaseb’s precious gold medal.
The veteran road grafter made us all proud by claiming a gold medal at the world championships, but it appears as if the brother’s trusted handlers are missing the point completely and now behave like spoilt brats.
Remember the gorgeous lady with the beret, during the welcoming ceremony at the NamPower headquarters earlier this week?
In her belief and misplaced gutso to appease the powers that be at the occasion, the madam had the temerity to shamelessly blame the media in no uncertain terms for the mishap that led to //Gowaseb’s unannounced arrival upon his return from his triumphant overseas safari.
What really pissed me off is that the madam blamed each and everyone else but the real McCoy, in this case, the Special Olympics, which obviously includes herself.
Talk about stigma towards athletes with disabilities, who else was supposed to keep the media informed about the team’s arrival? I’m just asking.
Was it perhaps not from your part since you probably expected the brother to be cold-shouldered because you have powered the bar while looking for scapegoats? I’m just asking.
On a rather serious note, there have been lots of tricky or rather legitimate questions on the issue of rewarding and acknowledging athletes’ achievements in the most dignified fashion.
For starters, Namibia’s first gold medalists at the Olympics, Johanna Benson, was handsomely rewarded with a house in the posh Meersig residential area, in her hometown Walvis Bay.
Double Olympic silver medalist, the legendary Frank Fredericks, became the proud recipient of a plot in one of Windhoek’s much sought-after residential areas.
Just as recently, members of the victorious Brave Warriors were given a pat on the back for becoming Southern African Football Champions after claiming the revered regional Cosafa Cup.
The Namibian government rewarded our Brave Warriors with an amount of N$1.2 million to be shared among the entire playing squad. However, the dominant view is that what’s good for the goose, should also be good for the gander.
Namibia’s pocket-sized professional boxer Paulus ‘Rock’ Ambunda rewrote the history books by becoming world champion for the second time, but the brother is yet to be rewarded in the same manner as other athletes.
Now, the fundamental question that needs to be addressed is: are we unintentionally setting a precedent with these supposedly well-meant awards? I’m just asking.
The bone of contention is – let us carefully consider the volume of participation and the genuine competitive level of august events. Ambunda is a recognized world champion in his particular weight category, which is certainly no mean feat.
My humble plea to sports authorities and all relevant stakeholders is to appoint without further delay a properly constituted Reward Committee, with the ultimate mandate to set up well defined criteria accompanied by classification.
Athletes’ rewards should not be left at the mercy of sentiments. It must be done purely on merit, according to their achievements and volume of participation. I rest my case.