YOURS truly had the privilege to attend in person the Declaration of Berlin during the 5th International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport, in the beautiful city of Berlin in May this year, at the invitation of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The ultimate aim of the global gathering was to reaffirm the fundamental principles enshrined in Unesco’s International Charter of Physical Education and Sport in the Olympic Charter recognizing the potential of sport to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, sustainable development and peace, while seeking to eliminate any form of discrimination. It was resolved that every individual must have the opportunity to access, and participate in sports as a fundamental right regardless of ethnic origin, gender, age, impairment, cultural and social background, economic resources, gender identity or sexual orientation. What boggles the mind is that countries like Germany have taken the lead to integrate migrant athletes into their sports structures, while some thick hide blokes masquerading as sports administrators in our neck of the woods are hell-bent on preventing indigenous Namibians from being part of what they have disingenuously designed to be exclusive preserves of Herrenvolkism.
Concerned with the tortoise-pace transformation process in local cricket or the ultimate failure to close the gap, and out of necessity, those who control the purse strings of this particular sporting discipline called cricket, resolved to introduce racial quotas to speed up the process of transformation. Despite this noble and commendable resolve, Namibian cricket bosses, who were obliged to concert their efforts in order to combat threats to the integrity of domestic cricket never bothered to follow suit and keep going on about their business unhindered through the persistent exclusion of cricketers of colour from the national senior team. As it stands, the buck stops with the toothless National Sports Commission (NSC) finish and klaar! Observing from their ivory towers the persistent inequalities in sports participation, which mirror the ongoing shenanigans in Namibian Cricket reflect an inability to formulate an inclusive sports policy and legislation with teeth to back it up in order to facilitate free participation.
This is indeed a sad state of affairs, which systematically denies many deserving Namibians of colour their God given right to showcase their talents, in their own backyard notwithstanding the fact that this country has been independent for 23 years now. It is now crystal clear that Cricket Namibia has no desire to include all deserving Namibians in the game of cricket, while failing dismally to commit to reducing attitudinal, social and physical barriers and to promote inclusion by raising awareness of the rights and abilities of indigenous Namibians to participate and compete freely without prejudice in the game of cricket and tom excel.
To rub salt in the wound, Cricket Namibia’s consistent and flagrant disregard for standing rules is a clear demonstration that the leadership, of this sports code has absolutely no respect for the country’s sports governing body (NSC) or the laws of this republic for that matter. Or how else does one interpret their habitual and obstinate foot-dragging in complying with the quotas proposed by the main sponsor. How many times have they dragged the national cricket team beyond Namibian borders to take part in international competitions without seeking permission, let alone having the traveling entourage sanctioned by the NSC, a basic requirement for any sports code travelling outside the country for international participation.
Its about time for the NSC to act like it matters, because Cricket Namibia is becoming an embarrassment to our beloved land and need to be called to order for crying out loud! These blokes in navy suits have become a law unto themselves and should no longer be allowed to operate in isolation and with impunity in this free and sovereign republic of ours. Sports authorities should introduce a comprehensive Charter of Transformation with well-defined targets and determine a timeframe, including a credible task team to monitor the process and the progress achieved without delay. I rest my case.
By Carlos Kambaekwa