Is the ministry of sport house on fire?
I have once again observed that there is some kind of tension brewing among the Ministry of Sport hierarchy, which is summing up Namibia’s situation in sport.Yes, the ministry last week issued a response where they explained that there is no tension between the minister and her deputy.
I am however certain that there have been misunderstandings that could have led to tension between the officials of the ministry and those of the sports commission.
We all know that the trip to Afcon, which saw some individuals travelling while others were left behind, must be the cause of the latest tension.
It was called a fact-finding mission in a bid to co-host Afcon but it appears as if some members went without the approval of their seniors and details of this trip remain questionable.
It was strange for me reading a letter from the ministry in which it denied sending officials to Afcon, while there was evidence that government officials had indeed travelled to Cameroon.
They say there is always fire where there is smoke and I have a strong feeling that this trip has instigated chaos between the NSC chief Freddy Mwiya, minister of sport Agnes Tjongarero and her deputy, Emma Kantema-Gaomas.
I however refuse to take a stance on that trip until those that went to Cameroon provide proof that this trip was indeed approved and it has yielded positive results.
What will be disappointing for me is if, months from now, we see no positive results from this trip.
I will be then be forced to believe that those that went on this trip indeed misused their offices to go on some flashy jet-setting trip.
I will however reserve further comment until such time when I deem it fit to pen my opinion.
My major concern and focus at the moment remain the current tension between those in power.
Namibian sport has in recent years been shadowed by infighting and a lack of sponsorship.
This is something that we as a country have to avoid at all costs, given that we are already a crippled sporting nation.
The country had its moment last year when we were finally able to get an Olympic silver medal and top results on the world stage.
That is what we have to focus on, and not the petty issues and tension that is being created among people.
We need our sport leaders united and not divided, as this could reflect on the way our sport is being administered.
The last thing this country need is officials that are having issues with one another at the expense of sport.
One can also say that the officials must not be influenced by people in federations to wage war on each other.
I have observed that the infighting in some federations and associations has actually led to some officials taking sides.
It is not advisable for our leaders to become entangled in the fights in federations as it can cause a bigger problem than we already have.
There is nothing as demoralising to sponsors as seeing sport codes and officials involved in bad publicity.
We as sport enthusiasts regard the ministry of sport as the home of sport and we therefore can’t be satisfied seeing those we regard as our parents involved in fights.
The further we drift away from the real issues on the ground that we need to solve, into issues that have to do with personal egos, the further we break the dreams of those that aspire to become global stars.
This fraternity needs everyone united with a common goal of making Namibian sport great. [email protected]