The Sunday News
SPORTING infrastructure in the country should be run by private companies to ensure they are fully utilised and properly maintained, says Temba Mliswa, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education, Sport, Arts and Culture.
In an interview following last week’s tour of the Africa Union Sports Council Region Five Under-20 Youth Games venues which are under renovation, Mliswa said it was time sporting infrastructure in the country was handed over to the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture, who should be responsible for the stadia.
Mliswa said the situation where the facilities were managed by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Housing through local authorities should be discontinued since there was now a ministry responsible for sport.
“We cannot continue with the situation where another ministry is controlling the stadia. We have seen how stadia have been run down while others have been lying idle. I think local authorities have not made great efforts in trying to keep the stadia in use by making them attractive to potential clients. They have not prioritised the maintenance of the infrastructure,’’ said Mliswa.
“Stadia should not just be used by local sports people but can also be rented out to other countries for events such as training camps.”
Mliswa said it would be ideal if an independent company that fell under the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture was mandated to run the stadia, adding that the venues after being upgraded to international standards, should be kept in pristine condition in order to attract sports tourists.
“Once they are renovated to match international standards, the stadia can generate their own income through leasing them to countries that would want to do training and other such activities. Locals can also hire these stadia and the money can be used to maintain the venues,” said Mliswa.
The former Warriors fitness trainer, who is also the Member of Parliament for Hurungwe West, said sports development would also play a critical role in ensuring the stadia do not become derelict.
He challenged sports administrators to start grooming sports persons at grassroots level so that there was constant use of venues.
“We do not want them (venues) to become white elephants after the Games but should be utilised to ensure we excel at various sporting disciplines as a country,” said Mliswa.
The Region Five Youth Games will run from 4 to 15 December in Bulawayo.
