Namibia Minister of Youth, Sport and National Service Agnes Tjongarero has assumed the chairmanship of the African Union Sports Council (Ausc) Region 5 Council of Ministers.

Tjongarero was conferred the chairpersonship on 15 December 2023 in Lilongwe, Malawi, during the ordinary session of the Region 5 Council of Ministers meeting, replacing Hon. Uchizi Mkandawire of Malawi.

In a media release issued to this publication by Ausc on Saturday, Tjongarero’s elevation was per Article 30.6 of the Region 5 Constitution, which states that “the chairpersonship of the council must rotate with the hosting timetable of the ordinary meetings unless decided otherwise by the majority of ministers eligible to vote”.

It also states that “by being the council of ministers’ chairperson, Tjongarero doubles up as the chairperson of the Troika of Ministers”. 

Ministers responsible for sport in Mozambique and Malawi will join minister Tjongarero to serve in the Troika for the next 24 months.

The Region 5 Council of Ministers is the supreme policy-making organ of the organisation.

She will be responsible for ensuring the stabilisation of the organisation under the recently approved organisational re-engineering model. Among its numerous duties, the Council of Ministers is responsible for making policies and regulations on the administration, organisation, and promotion of sport in Region 5. 

It is also responsible for ratifying the draft annual budgets and annual audited accounts submitted to it by the Board of Advisors. 

The Council is in charge of disciplining members and officials, including Confederations, for any breach of the Region 5 Constitution, its rules, regulations, and by-laws, or for misconduct likely to bring Region 5 into disrepute.

With Tjongarero assuming the chairpersonship of the region, the chairpersonship of the Board of Advisors and Committee of Experts also shifted to Namibia, with the executive director in the Ministry of Youth Sport and National Service, Erastus Haitengela, taking over.

Also, the chairpersonship of the committee of experts was taken over by Jo-Ann Manuel, the director of sport in Namibia.

Speaking to New Era Sport, minister Tjongarero was delighted to assume the chairpersonship of the organisation, saying Namibia will strive to be exemplary during this time.

“It’s now hard work for us as we audit what facilities we have to host the 2024 Ausc Region 5 Games in May 2025 regarding the disciplines that will be chosen for the games. We also need to factor in the budget for the games. We will host the games in May 2025 because if we say we want to host them in 2024, it will be suicidal. Our 2024 budget has already been submitted, and the games were not part of it,” she said.

The meeting was attended by five ministers and four deputy ministers from the ten Region 5 member countries.