Windhoek
Erwin Naimhwaka was unanimously elected as the new president of Athletics Namibia (AN) during the organisation’s elective congress in the capital over the weekend.
Naimhwaka, who was AN’s secretary general prior to Saturday’s congress, replaces Alna Similo as president. Similo will remain in the structures and is now one of the newly elected four vice-presidents, with the other three being Xenia Pieterse, Satrick Bampton and Mathew Johannes.
Immanuel Hamutenya is the new secretary general and will be heading the organisation’s daily operations, as as well as the various committees that will soon be put in place.
Speaking to New Era Sport, Naimhwaka said it won’t be business as usual at AN, as he plans to bring a whole raft of new ideas aimed at taking the organisation to greater heights.
“I don’t want a situation where we continue crying about underfunding. I want to create a culture where we will become more innovative by developing new fundraising ideas to sustain the association and ensure it remains one of the best,” said Naimhwaka.
He continued: “One of my immediate plans is to look at various areas of development and see how we how we can help empower our athletes better. I specifically want to focus on development at youth level to see what opportunities we can create in that space and also came up with great programmes for them.
“Also, another focus is make sure we work hard to create a good space for our elite athletes, a space where they can excel and reach their full potential,” he said.