dyton mupawaenda
Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter
ASPIRING sportspersons in Hwedza and beyond will soon be honing their skills in ideal conditions with plans to construct a high-performance centre at the heart of the expansive district on course.
With general societal deviance and drug abuse menace reaching alarming levels amongst the youths, authorities are putting together measures to arrest the phenomenon.
And the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training Tino Machakaire, who is also the Hwedza South legislator has taken it a notch higher.
He has been bankrolling the Tinmac Foundation annual sports festival since 2018, but he has now upgraded the events to run in a league-format.
Machakaire has also revealed plans to establish a high-performance centre at Mukamba Business Centre to try and draw the youths from idleness.
“We are trying all we can to fight the drug abuse menace among the youths. Besides putting in place different self-help projects for them, we have also decided to incorporate sport into their daily lives.
“We have been holding tournaments over the years giving them prizes, but the problem has always been that tournaments are once-off.
“So we have now introduced leagues for all the sports that include football,netball, cycling among other sports,” said Machakaire.
“This is how we can ensure that they keep on fine-tuning their craft rather than spending much of their time indulging in detrimental activities.
“I can also tell you that we will be constructing a high-performance centre at Mukamba Business Centre for everyone.
“It’s something that we have been planning and now want to implement.
“For the years that we have held the sports gala, we have seen that there is huge potential in Hwedza, which needs to be tapped by doing the right thing.
“There is raw talent that has to be polished. And I believe the high-performance centre will come in handy in that regard.
“We will incorporate almost every sporting discipline so that no one will be left behind.
“There will also be a disability centre so that differently-abled people will get to utilise the infrastructure as well.”
Machakaire said the centre will also give a platform to artistes.
“It’s not going to be a sport-only facility. There will be a community hall as well. Artistes that include musicians, actors among others will get their space too.
“The idea is to make sure everyone has something to concentrate on and eke a living out of it.”
Online Reporter