WINDHOEK – It somehow appears that it will slightly be another rock-strewn sporting year for the local fraternity after it was announced that the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service has been allocated N$286 million for the 2019/20 financial year, which is a N$2 million reduction from the N$288 million the ministry got in the last financial year. 

These figures were announced yesterday in the National Assembly by Finance Minister Calle Schlettwein, who tabled the much-anticipated N$60 billion national budget for the 2019/20 financial year.

For the past three financial years, the sports ministry’s budget continues to dwindle as the ministry got N$288 million for the 2018/19 fiscal year, which was a massive N$97 million reduction from the N$385 million the ministry was allocated in the 2017/18 fiscal period.

The N$2 million reduction for the new financial year comes at a crucial time when Namibia, the line ministry in particular, is rededicating itself to the overall way of running sports in the country and one such new initiative is the Namibia Annual Sport Expo (NASE), which is slated for September later this year.

The reduction also comes at a time when the ministry introduced a new National Sports Reward Policy, which was approved by cabinet last year and ministry is also expected to use those resources to promote and create a conducive sporting environment for Namibian athletes, preparation for and participation in various national teams, grassroots sport development, and provision and maintenance of sports facilities. 

Away from the sports business side of things, the ministry will have to make do with the N$286 million to feed multiple programmes from the other two directorates, that of youth and national service.