From the Sidelines

THE Namibian Government has over the years failed to acknowledge that sport deserves a rightful place among the many programmes that are regarded as national priorities.

This can be seen from the meagre amount that is dedicated to sport in each financial year by Government. True that the cake for the National Budget is not big enough for each ministry to get what they would want, but it is imperative for sport to be regarded as an important activity in the country.The Minister of Sport, John Mutorwa, this week said in his ministry’s budget motivation speech in Parliament that at least N$50 million has been budgeted for sport during this financial year.Unfortunately, in my opinion, this money is not enough to meet all the domestic demands in this fast-changing sporting world.The country is vast and has plenty of talent in primarily football, boxing and athletics, but the financial resources for the development of those potential future champions are just not enough.Mutorwa has repeatedly asked the corporate world to become partners in sports funding.Some companies have given their share and continue to do so, but this still does not justify our position as a competitive sporting nation on both the regional and international level.But before money is poured into sport, I always wondered whether the country has a specific plan on the entire future of Namibian sport within a specific time? There are many questions and the very first one is: does Namibia develop its sportsmen and women from a young age to grow into competitive athletes on the elite level in future? Is there consistency in the development of these men and women on all sporting fronts, be it in football, athletics, rugby, cricket, basketball, volleyball, hockey and all the other codes? This brings us down to objectives and targets that Government, through the Directorate of Sport, has set in an attempt to see Namibia as a strong, competitive nation in future.Do we have a national plan of action for sport in general in place? Is it short, medium or long term? Does the Directorate of Sport have development plans of all the active sporting codes to establish in what direction they are moving and what they aspire to achieve? Has the Government, or the Directorate of Sport, ever considered to take initiative in approaching the private sector for funding with concrete proposals, instead of appealing to them through the speeches by the Minister? There is a Sport Trust Fund, but how often do companies contribute to this and has it achieved its objectives of covering the financial needs of sporting codes? Now, with Government and the private sector not able to spend a few million more on sport, there will be no results coming in from the international level, because of a poor development base.There is a dire need for Namibia to wake up and develop its sportsmen and women from the grassroots level.A lot of money is needed for this and to ensure that it is achieved, skilled, knowledgeable and competent people should be in charge of developing sport in the respective codes.The reason why Botswana’s football national team gives Namibia a hiding each time they meet, is because that country has developed their youth and now it is paying off.They are continuing to do so and we will keep on losing if we don’t solidify our development structures.For the money part, Government has a duty to look for alternative sources to invest in the youth.The private sector also has a duty to embrace sport and support it fully as it is now a business and will be of great value to their companies in return.Companies in Namibia are generally reluctant to give money for no return, but little do they realise that it pays off in the long run.The Namibia Football Consortium, which consist of Namibia Breweries, MTC and First National Bank, will never deny the fact they receive value for their money through the game.A lot more companies are needed to do that and it will be important to work in partnership with Government to develop sport to ultimately produce winning teams and athletes, unlike the current poor state.True that the cake for the National Budget is not big enough for each ministry to get what they would want, but it is imperative for sport to be regarded as an important activity in the country.The Minister of Sport, John Mutorwa, this week said in his ministry’s budget motivation speech in Parliament that at least N$50 million has been budgeted for sport during this financial year.Unfortunately, in my opinion, this money is not enough to meet all the domestic demands in this fast-changing sporting world.The country is vast and has plenty of talent in primarily football, boxing and athletics, but the financial resources for the development of those potential future champions are just not enough.Mutorwa has repeatedly asked the corporate world to become partners in sports funding.Some companies have given their share and continue to do so, but this still does not justify our position as a competitive sporting nation on both the regional and international level.But before money is poured into sport, I always wondered whether the country has a specific plan on the entire future of Namibian sport within a specific time? There are many questions and the very first one is: does Namibia develop its sportsmen and women from a young age to grow into competitive athletes on the elite level in future? Is there consistency in the development of these men and women on all sporting fronts, be it in football, athletics, rugby, cricket, basketball, volleyball, hockey and all the other codes? This brings us down to objectives and targets that Government, through the Directorate of Sport, has set in an attempt to see Namibia as a strong, competitive nation in future.Do we have a national plan of action for sport in general in place? Is it short, medium or long term? Does the Directorate of Sport have development plans of all the active sporting codes to establish in what direction they are moving and what they aspire to achieve? Has the Government, or the Directorate of Sport, ever considered to take initiative in approaching the private sector for funding with concrete proposals, instead of appealing to them through the speeches by the Minister? There is a Sport Trust Fund, but how often do companies contribute to this and has it achieved its objectives of covering the financial needs of sporting codes? Now, with Government and the private sector not able to spend a few million more on sport, there will be no results coming in from the international level, because of a poor development base.There is a dire need for Namibia to wake up and develop its sportsmen and women from the grassroots level.A lot of money is needed for this and to ensure that it is achieved, skilled, knowledgeable and competent people should be in charge of developing sport in the respective codes.The reason why Botswana’s football national team gives Namibia a hiding each time they meet, is because that country has developed their youth and now it is paying off.They are continuing to do so and we will keep on losing if we don’t solidify our development structures.For the money part, Government has a duty to look for alternative sources to invest in the youth.The private sector also has a duty to embrace sport and support it fully as it is now a business and will be of great value to their companies in return.Companies in Namibia are generally reluctant to give money for no return, but little do they realise that it pays off in the long run.The Namibia Football Consortium, which consist of Namibia Breweries, MTC and First National Bank, will never deny the fact they receive value for their money through the game.A lot more companies are needed to do that and it will be important to work in partnership with Government to develop sport to ultimately produce winning teams and athletes, unlike the current poor state.