Chronicle Editor
Zimpapers Sports Hub
AS Zimbabwe hosts the African Union Sports Council Region Five meetings, chief executive officer Stanley Mutoya says they are looking forward to their committees reflecting and deliberating on various issues to do with sport development.
Mutoya is already in the country for the meetings that are running until November 15 in Harare and part of the delegates in the various committees and commissions were expected in the country yesterday.
Besides the meetings, there is also going to be a ground-breaking ceremony for the Regional Museum to be housed within the vicinity of the National Sports Stadium and a Cultural Night Festival.
Mutoya, yesterday, took some time to outline the activities on the programme during a media briefing at the HICC.
“So, here we are bringing in, from today, we are receiving members of our Women in Sport and Sport for People with Disabilities Committee that will be meeting tomorrow (today).
“We are expecting all our member countries to bring in their representatives for Women in Sport and People with Disabilities.
“So, we are looking into the agenda of saying how much of our women in sport as well as a sport for people with disabilities action plan that we developed; how much of that is being executed at country level.
“So, countries are bringing in their submissions, and we look into the progress that has been made.
“And once they are done, we are meeting with our Physical Education, Sport and Recreation Development Commission, which is arriving tomorrow.
“And on the same day, we have our Human Resources Education and Training Commission, which is meeting as well to discuss matters related to education and training of our people in our member countries,” said Mutoya.
“On the 8th of November, our High-Performance Commission will be meeting together with our Budget Finance Risk and Legal Commission.”
The High-Performance Commission will be reflecting on how the Region performed at various competitions including at Afcon, African Games, Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games.
The Marketing and Business Development Commission as well as the Governance Commission will be meeting on November 9.
“Matters of governance are critical. When our Ministers met in 2019, they made a decision, which we also want to look into as far as progress is concerned.
“One of the decisions is that members that serve in national federations must have minimum education qualification.
“So, we are moving towards that direction of ensuring that there is minimum qualifications for people who will be serving in our national federations going forward.
“And so, it’s part of what we are looking into as far as matters of governance is concerned, compliance is concerned, matters of ensuring that we are transparent, we are an industry that is a productive industry,” said Mutoya.
The Commissions will then send recommendations from the meetings to the Committee of Experts, which is scheduled to meet on November 11, and thereafter the board of advisors will then meet on November 13 and 14 to close the decisions that would have come through.
“The various Committees that are spread from now until next week on Tuesday will be building up towards the board of advisors that is going to be meeting on the 13th and 14th.”
The ground-breaking ceremony for the Museum is set for November 15 as well as the Cultural Night Festival. Acting director of sport and recreation in the Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Ignatius Vambe, said they are honoured to host the meetings.
“As a Ministry, we have made all the necessary arrangements to make sure that the meeting becomes a success. And besides the meeting, we are also going to have the ground-breaking ceremony of the Regional Museum that is going to be built here in Zimbabwe,” said Vambe.
Also in attendance during yesterday’s media briefing was Sport and Recreation Commission acting director-general, Sebastian Garikai.
Londile Moyo
Online Reporter