… Namibia’s ally acrosss the Orange

WINDHOEK – Vibrant South African youthful Minister of Sports and Recreation, Fikile Mbalula, is generally known as somebody who walks the talk.

When Mbalula unleashed his short but punchy speech during his well articulated keynote address as the guest speaker at the MTC Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) awards ceremony at the Windhoek Country Club last Friday – he left no doubts that he is on a mission to transform sport among all genres with a keen eye on fostering closer ties with Namibia.

The outspoken Mbalula pulled no punches as he spoke openly about the injustices and prejudices that are so prevalent in various sporting disciplines that were previously strictly reserved for the elite, referring to both South Africa and Namibia during a live broadcast on television that was also aired in his native land on the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

“It would be a great shame if we lose sight of the reality of racial discrimination in sport. We need a collective effort to fight and rectify these injustices and a scrupulous mindset. The victory for South Africa is a victory for Namibia and victory for Namibia is also for the Southern African region, culminating in victory for the entire African continent.”

He called on various organs from both governments to join hands and implement policies and laws aimed at eradicating discrimination, adding that sports has turned into a massive industry and has the desired potential to be utilized as an essential entry into physical education and above all, to unite people with different political views.

Mbalula lauded the NSC for its initiative of massively increasing winning prizes, saying it is almost on par with their South African counterparts. He further urged the NSC to make full use of the available resources and state-of-the-art sports facilities in neigbouring South Africa.

“As the line minister, I’m ready to carve the way for you to have access to our resources that will enable you to adequately train your athletes so that they can compete fiercely at international level.”

The South African Minster of Sports and Recreation, could not heap enough praise on the NSC Organizing Committee for what he termed the smooth fashion in which the event was conducted. In conclusion, Mbalulua made a humble suggestion to event organizers to allow future winners to deliver an acceptance speech upon receiving their prizes.
By Carlos Kambaekwa