The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
WHILE he has been immersed in football for all of his sporting life, Madinda “Khathazile” Ndlovu has taken over the City Basketball Courts with the venue set to become home to Highlanders Basketball Club.
The courts, formerly known as the Barrow Street Basketball Courts, located along Samuel Parirenyatwa Street next to the City Swimming Pool, have been lying derelict with no activity taking place as they have been in a state of dilapidation.
Ndlovu decided to take over the place and give it a new lease of life while at the same time assisting Highlanders basketball club raise funds.
The Highlanders Football Club technical manager however, will not be playing a role in basketball for the first time as he has previously assisted in the running of the Highlanders basketball team before he left for his first excursion in Botswana.
Ndlovu said after taking up the top post at Highlanders’ technical department he got the opportunity to work again with the basketball side and managed to get a 99-year lease from the Bulawayo City Council.
He quickly decided to start by erecting a “club house” at the venue that would be used as a meeting point which also house dressing rooms that are complete with showers and toilets for both ladies and men.
“When I came back and decided to go full force into supporting basketball, I realised that it would be easier for us to fix this premise so that it will be able to sustain itself instead of me continually pulling cash out of my pocket.
“As you see the bar is almost complete and we acquired furniture for the place so we can also host functions here that can raise money for the (basketball club),” said Ndlovu, who revealed they used to sponsor Bosso’s basketball side under the MAP Brothers brand after being asked to take over the side by the then Highlanders’ administration that had Horace Ndubiwa among its officials.
While the club house is nearly complete with the contractors putting in final touches to the interior fittings, Ndlovu said he cannot put a date on when the renovations will be complete as there is still work to be done on the courts.
“I can’t tell when it will start operating as I am doing this all from my pocket and for now it has been four months since I started and I have managed to put up a new structure (building) from the ground that was not there.
“We have to move to the courts now because they need refurbishment as they were cracking, which we believe is due to expansion of the roots of near trees, which we will need to cut after getting permission from the council and then resurface the courts and then add a section of stands and a sitting area,” he said.
The venue was previously used by Highlanders basketball but as the team struggled to stay afloat it moved to Khanyisile Sports Centre, then known as Bulawayo Club for the Disabled.
While Highlanders is known for its football, the institution grew to embrace other sporting disciplines that include rugby, netball, volleyball and darts. The club also used to have table tennis team.
