I have crossed swords with the controversial rugby boss many times, but I am glad that he was man enough to tell the Deputy Minister of Sport, Pohamba Shifeta, in his face that Government was up to nothing when it comes to funding sport.

This topic has been a burning issue for some time now and considering the pathetic performance of our athletes at the recent Olympic Games in China, I put the blame squarely at the door of the Government.

To put it bluntly, Government does not take sport seriously.

Full stop.

I can back this statement with the following: I think most of Namibia's sportsmen and women will agree with me that they have not seen 100 per cent commitment from Government, especially when they have to prepare for international competitions.

The athletes who competed at the recent Olympic Games were given a small amount for preparations by the Namibia National Olympic Committee (NNOC) through the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Solidarity Programme.

The money was also given late and the athletes had to fork out their own money before that to qualify for the Olympics.

What did Government give? Not even pocket money to any of the athletes.

Government did not even offer incentives in case anyone wins a medal.

Namibian athletes don't have the drive and motivation to go full out at such big events because they are treated like the next person on the street.

They are not regarded as national idols.

There is no hype created around them and to put it simply, no one cares if they win or not.

Other countries already have their top athletes preparing for the 2012 Olympics in the United Kingdom.

There are programmes in place, athletes have been identified and are being prepared to the fullest to make an impact come 2012.

They have set training programmes, set competitions to compete in to oil them perfectly ahead of the next Games.

But Namibia is fast asleep, except for officials already positioning themselves to make the ship to the next Games.

I have not seen a single document from the Ministry of Sport or the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) outlining a cohesive plan for Namibian athletes to compete at international events such as the Olympic Games.

If there is one, we will gladly publish it for all to see that there is some seriousness on the part of the ones in charge of sport.

Shifeta said the current sports policy was outdated and Government can thus not dish out money as demanded by the sports codes.

Namibia has been independent for 18 years and why do we still have an outdated sports policy? Change it! Questions need to be asked such as how many athletes do we want at the next Games; what lessons have been learnt to improve on; which potential athletes can be groomed for the next Games; what are the estimates in terms of funding for preparing these athletes; and how many international competitions does Namibia have to send athletes to for them to be more competitive before the next Games.

If anyone in the Ministry of Sports, NSC or Government has answers to these questions, let the nation know through the available media platforms.

I also back the statement by MTC spokesman Albertus Aochamub, who said Namibians are accustomed to losing.

We are indeed a losing nation at this stage.

We lose because there is not sufficient support given to the many talented sportsmen and women who are scattered around this country.

Young talent is not developed and they will therefore never become world champions.

If Government fails to play a leading role and take a keen interest in sport, the talented ones will leave this country for greener pastures and we will become a no-hoper competitively and ultimately be erased from the world sporting map.

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