When tabling the national budget in Parliament yesterday, finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi announced that the sports ministry will be getting an increased allocation of N$330.9 million for the 2022/23 financial year, which is almost a N$51.9 million increment from the N$279 million the ministry got in the preceding fiscal period.
The 20.5% increment is not a bad effort from government, considering the country’s overall frail fiscal state and the many socio-economic challenges, such as youth unemployment, the Covid-19 pandemic and the incapacitated health and education sectors.
It is no secret that Namibia faces a raft of challenges in terms of dilapidated sport facilities, which has forced the country’s Brave Warriors and Brave Gladiators to play their home games in South Africa.
Playing our home games on foreign soil has come at a great cost for both the Namibia Football Association and for us, the local taxpayers.
We have over the years repeatedly called on government to prioritise the funding for sport, especially the renovation and construction of new facilities, but many thought it was just a wolf cry by the media and the various sports pundits.
A few years down the line and following countless pleas, Namibia was embarrassingly forced to play our international football matches in South Africa, after both the Independence and Sam Nujoma stadiums were banned by Caf and Fifa due to their poor state.
I’m sure government has learnt the hard way, and now fully understand the important role and impact of sports in a developing country like ours.
But while I applaud the increased funding, I must also hasten to remind government not to make this increment a once-off thing just because we have a stadium crisis, and therefore something quick had to be done to save our faces. No!
Government must remain consistent with this kind of increased funding towards sport if it wants to see tangible results in terms of getting rid of inadequate sports facilities, and in terms of overall sports development as a country.
There is no point in increasing the sports budget this year, and then decreasing it the following year. Facilities are things that need constant evaluation as per the ever-evolving international standards and requirements, and that creates a need to remain on par with the rest of the world in terms of funding and capacitating.
The Independence and Sam Nujoma stadiums are but some of the country’s many dilapidated facilities, and we therefore need consistent and dedicated increased funding to address the issue of the other stadiums such as the incomplete Eenhana sports complex and many others.
Until next time, sharp, sharp!!