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Home / Be careful of falling hook, line and sinker for induction
Be careful of falling hook, line and sinker for induction
2018-02-02Staff Report 2 When a farmer feeds a goose, at first the poor animal is quite reluctant and hesitant for the gesture, wondering what’s going on here and why is he feeding me so well all of a sudden? This particular exercise continues for a couple of weeks until eventually the recipient’s skepticism gives way and after a few months the goose is now damn sure that the feeder has his interest at heart as is confirmed by each additional day this practice continues unabated. However, besides being fully convinced of his feeder’s benevolence, the recipient is amazed when the “good Samaritan” drags him out of his enclosure on Xmas day and slaughters it. This is exactly where we as human beings fall victim to inductive thinking, the inclination of drawing universal certainties from individual observations. Back in the eighteenth century – philosophers used this allegory to caution of its pitfalls since its not just geese that are susceptible to it. As a people, we ought to be very careful and try by all means to avoid falling hook, line and sinker for induction. Yours truly has deliberately chosen the above preamble in an effort to unlock the ensuing contractual brouhaha between the country’s elite football league (NPL) and its principal sponsor MTC. It goes beyond any comprehension as to why some of the NPL core affiliates, including some members on the NPL executive, are now suddenly pleading ignorance on the clause that obliges the league authorities to solicit sponsorship elsewhere for the three national first division streams. It looks like the men in blue suits at Football House got carried away after MTC finally signed the sponsorship contract following prolonged negations between the two parties. It’s incumbent upon the league’s authorities to ensure that all stakeholders including media houses are fully armed with a copy of contracts of such magnitude for all concerned parties to operate on the same wavelength. As much as the media’s primary function is to inform and promote the game of football to the best of its ability, it should be understood that media practitioners also have a moral obligation to point out any wrongdoings within the administration of sporting disciplines. Compliance is becoming a headache amongst many a sport administrator and official if the ongoing shenanigans in our midst are anything to go by. The Namibian Sports Act of 2003 states clearly how sports codes should conduct their functions yet we have a significant number of sporting disciplines operating on their own discretion. Cricket Namibia (CN) is one of those sporting codes that have become a law unto themselves, or else how does one explain a public entity functioning on a discriminatory constitution? I’m just wondering. It’s now crystal clear that Cricket Namibia has absolutely no intention to aggressively introduce transformation in their rank and file, at least not for the time being. Experienced Zimbabwean mentor, Norbert Manyande, was mysteriously axed on trumped-up charges and false accusations in the conspicuous absence of a proper hearing. This is a man who has transformed Namibian cricket within a short time, taking the team to a 7th place finish in the ICC Youth Under 19 World Cup - dispatching reigning champions South Africa en route to the quarterfinals, in Bangladesh 2016. In Manyande’s absence, the team could only manage a disappointing 14th spot at the just ended ICC Youth Under 19 World Cup in New Zealand – what does this tell us? The composition of the national senior cricket team for the 2019 World Cup is testimony to the deliberate tortoise-pace transformation, with only one cricketer of colour in the selected team. The inclusion of wicket-keeper Zane Green, whose old man happened to be a CN board member, has also been received with a pinch of salt, so to speak. Yours truly has it on good authority that a highly ranked cricket official has been placed on suspension after making reference to a cricketer of colour as “black chocolate”. I rest my case. 2018-02-02Staff Report 2
