WINDHOEK – Chief Administrator of the Namibia Sport Commission (NSC) Freddy Mwiya yesterday warned that if local sport federations and umbrella bodies continue to shun calls for the immediate introduction of transformation policies, the NSC on behalf of government will have no choice but to consider introducing a quota system.
At a press conference in the capital yesterday, Mwiya strongly expressed his dissatisfaction with the slow and at times non-implementation of various policies that are aimed at fastening transformation in the local sport fraternity, especially in sport codes that were previously reserved for the minority.
Drawing strong reference from the 2017 Ombudsman report titled: A Nation Divided: Why Does Racism and Other Forms of Discrimination Still Persist after 27 Years of Namibia’s Independence, Mwiya said the Ombudsman report should be embraced by all and be used as a guiding document in attaining Namibia’s transformational goals in sport.
The 2017 Ombudsman report, based on the oral and written submissions, revealed how Namibia’s sporting sector remains imbalanced and continues to benefit only a few athletes from sport codes such as rugby, cricket, hockey and others that were in the past deemed too sophisticated for previously disadvantaged Namibians.
“My office continues to receive calls from members of the public and from the media about what is happening on the ground and this has prompted my office to send this caution. Should the status quo remain, we will not hesitate to lobby policymakers to introduce punitive measures such as the introduction of a quota system in sport. This may not be the best option, but we can no longer be watching from the canvass and accept discrimination in sport to be the order of the day while dreams of young Namibians are being shattered on account of institutionalised discrimination. Inclusivity must be embraced by all if we are to see changes and improved national team performances,” said Mwiya.
He added: “I wish to send a caution that if there will be continued resistance, sports federations who permit themselves guilty will not be allowed to host or bid for mega sport events. We may be forced to refuse or withdraw national colours to federations holding failing to comply and make efforts to transform our sport. We will even go as far as lobbying parliament to bar corporate sponsorship to anyone hostile to transformation in sport.”
A quota system or quotaism is the concept of organising society by a quota system, whether by racial, gender, language or any other demographic attribute. A quota system is often part of any affirmative action policies, but in those cases it is mainly used as a “target”, within a particular setup.
This will mean for instance, a national rugby team is required to have 10 players from the minority group and five from the previously disadvantaged groups, as compared to the current situation where one group could dominate the squad.