Chronicle Editor
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE African Union Sports Council Region 5 Troika Ministerial meeting that had been set for the beginning of this month has been rescheduled to end of the month.
The meeting was postponed so that informed decisions are considered while carefully monitoring Covid-19 developments in member States.
“The meeting is now set for March 31. The chairperson requested for the date to allow time for some decisions to be considered thoroughly and observe Covid-19 developments,” said Ausc Region 5 chief executive officer Stanley Mutoya in a brief interview with Chronicle Sport.
The Troika is chaired by Lesotho’s Minister of Gender, Youth, Sport and Recreation, Likeleli Tampane and includes Malawian Minister of Youth and Sport Ulemu Msungama as well as Botswana’s Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development Tumiso Rakgare.
It is a management board of council of Ministers, which is responsible for taking decisions in between meetings of the council.
The African Union Sports Council Region 5 has come a long way in the business of developing sport and recreation in the region.
It started as the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA) Zone VI and it transformed into the AUSC Region 5 on November 8, 2013, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe on the occasion of the Council of Ministers meeting.
The decision to change the nomenclature from SCSA Zone VI to AUSC Region 5 brought with it excitement and challenges of ensuring the organisation maintained its leader position in Africa while at the same time adopting a new business culture under the auspices of the African Union. The journey has been intriguing and continues to be fascinating.
The SCSA mandate and structures were designed to facilitate the successful liberation objectives of the continent during colonialism.
The then Organisation of African Unity (OAU), through the active involvement of the SCSA, was able to use sport as a campaign tool to boycott international sporting activities in order to send a clear message to the outside world that Africa would not engage in sports with colonisers and apartheid regimes.
SCSA was primarily established to advance the achievement of the political objectives of the OAU and was therefore more focused on holding meetings and campaigns against apartheid and colonial regimes participating in international sporting events.
Sport development and development through sports were not principal focus areas.
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