Acting chairperson of the newly established Namibia Uniformed Forces/Services Sports Association, Kenneth Muatara, says the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic makes it impossible to go ahead with any of their planned activities.
In an interview with New Era Sport, he said the newly-established association, which represents uniformed athletes and regulates sporting activities of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), Namibian Correctional Services (NCS) and the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) had big plans for this year, but the effects of Covid-19 have disrupted their calendar.
Among the planned activities for the year was the election of a substantive leadership for the sports umbrella body, but Muatara said they have since resolved to shelve the elections until the environment is conducive enough to call an elective congress.
“As an affiliate, we need to be in adherence with all the legal frameworks of the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC), which makes it clear that a new leadership must come through a congress and representatives from all regions must attend the congress,” he added.
“Also, we were planning to source funds to host the congress, but the ongoing travel restrictions of Covid regulations have made it impossible for us to go out to the regions and source funding from our various stakeholders.”
Despite the obstacles, Muatara said they have been warmly welcomed by other sister associations and federations
in the local sports fraternity, something he described as overwhelming and encouraging.
In terms of competition, the acting chairperson noted that once the spread of Covid-19 subsides, they are planning to participate in various regional competitions such as the Southern Africa Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisations Games and others. “We had planned competitions, but due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we could not host any of the games. NamPol was supposed to participate in our Police Games, which attracts officers from all 14 regions, and the NDF, on the other hand, was anticipating to have the local Military Games, but all these events won’t be taking place due to the pandemic,” explained Muatara.
– mkambukwe@nepc.com.na