Use Sports For Socio-Economic Growth

ALLOW me space in your esteemed paper to share my views and give my suggestions on the many ways we (as individuals), the private sector and the government can exploit sport to decrease the high rates of unemployment (currently estimated at 51.2 percent) in Namibia.

I am a third-year Bachelor of Economics student at the University of Namibia.Firstly, let me take my hat off for the government’s national expansionary budget that has been tabled for the 2011/2012 financial year. I know that our government is prioritising education as the main tool to achieving economic growth, development, equality and reducing poverty. This is more evident in the billion dollar chunk of the national budget that has been allocated to education.I am only disgusted by the mere N$600 million that has been set aside by the ministry for developmental purposes. This is really a disappointment, because as far as I am concerned, the rest of the billions will again become fat salaries for the education directors, inspectors, principals and teachers. There will still not be enough text books for learners, tuition fees at tertiary institutes will not be affordable, and at the end of the day, nothing would be achieved other than more farms and livestock for the already rich office-bearers.Well, enough said about education. Let me now talk about the roles sport can play in our country in order for us to achieve socio-economic growth and development. As much as I agree with the slogan that ‘education is the key to success’, I am lost for words as to what this ‘key’ would be used for when there are no ‘doors’ to unlock and open. How many graduates are wandering the streets everyday looking for jobs? These people have graduated and yet they can’t find jobs. Sport can be a remedy to this ‘virus’ in many ways.Take for example Europe. About half of their workforce is either directly or indirectly linked to sport. A team like Manchester United alone employs doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists, engineers, mechanics, TV and radio personalities, IT technicians and many more. These are graduates who obtained ‘keys’ through education and had doors to unlock! The same applies to American football, boxing, athletics, cricket and rugby.I would thus urge the government to seriously consider sports as another tool that can be used to develop our country. Those people that we see in the streets are graduates and they desperately need jobs. Let’s invest more money in the Namibian Premier League, commercialise all soccer, rugby, netball, athletics and cricket clubs so that they become companies. These companies would then employ full-time professional players, administrators, doctors, nurses, drivers, IT technicians and so on.If Usain Bolt could make a decent living out of athletics, Messi out of football, Paulus Moses out of boxing, and many others, then surely our government would be doomed for not considering sports as the way forward!Eric HangulaBy email