Strauss Lunyangwe
WINDHOEK - Deputy Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service Agnes Tjongarero says the time is ripe to approach sport development creatively and has called on the regional chairpersons responsible for sport at various towns across the country to be innovative when addressing the shortage of sport facilities.
As opposed to the unsustainable traditional habit of relying solely on government to bring about the desired standard of sport facilities and creating a conducive environment for athletes, Tjongarero says it’s time for the regional chairpersons appointed by the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) in all regions to start exploring other avenues such as Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to address the issue of sport development. The minister was speaking at the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) Regional Chairpersons workshop, which was held in Windhoek at the NFA Girls Centre on Saturday.
Tjongarero was making reference to a recent New Era article about the Eenhana Multi-Purpose Sports Complex, which has been under construction for the past 10 years and its immediate completion remains in jeopardy.
‘’If we want to see the growth of sport in Namibia, then it is high time that those town councils should come to aid the government in order to help maintain sports facilities in their towns as there are facilities in every town,’’ she said.
The deputy minister also wants all regions to have coaches for different sport codes not just athletics and football, but inclusive of other sport codes which were previously predominantly for a particular race.
“Athletics and football is not the only sport, many of you know only football and netball. Let us please reach out to other sport codes and take them to our people in the regions. I don’t want you to have 20 sport codes at once but slowly we can get there per region,’’ she stressed.
She implored on the chairpersons to engage the different businesses at their towns so that they can get the necessary support through PPPs, as such a model has proved to be successful in Swakopmund, Oshakati and Luderitz where top-class sport facilities were constructed and others upgraded.
On the administrative side of things, Tjongarero also urged sports officers in the regions and the chairpersons to improve their working relationships and do away from unwanted infightings as that hinders sport development in the regions.