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Sports Reporter
MALAWI’S Minister of Youth and Sport, Ulemu Msungama, is the new Chairperson of the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Council of Ministers.
Msungama, who replaced Likeleli Tampane of Lesotho, was conferred the Chairpersonship on December 2 in Maseru, Lesotho, during the ordinary session of the Region 5 Council of Ministers meeting.
Msungama’s elevation was in accordance with Article 31.6 of the Region 5 Constitution which states that “the Chairpersonship of the Council must rotate with the hosting timetable of the ordinary meetings, unless decided otherwise by the majority of Ministers eligible to vote”.
By virtue of being the Council of Ministers Chairperson, Minister Msungama doubles up as the Chairperson of the Troika of Ministers.
Ministers responsible for sport in Mozambique and Lesotho will join Msungama to serve in the Troika for the next 24 months.
Carlos Gilberto Mendes, Secretary of State for Sport in Mozambique becomes the new Troika and Council of Ministers Vice-chairperson as Mozambique will be the next Region 5 Games host after Malawi.
Tampane of Lesotho becomes the third member of the Region 5 Troika of Ministers by being Minister responsible for sport in the country that hosted the previous Region 5 Games before Malawi.
According to the Region 5 Constitution, membership of the Council is based on the bearer being the Minister responsible for Sport in an AUSC Region 5 Member State.
The Chairperson of the Council holds office for a period of two years.
An in-coming Council Chairperson must serve on the Troika for two years prior to assuming Chairpersonship of the Council while an out-going Council Chairperson must serve on the Troika for two years after leaving Council Chairpersonship. The Region 5 Council of Ministers is the supreme policy making organ of the organisation. Among its numerous duties, the Council of Ministers is responsible for making policies and regulations on the administration, organisation and promotion of sport in Region 5 as recommended by the Executive Committee.
The Council of Ministers is charged with the responsibility to ratify the draft annual budgets and annual audited accounts submitted to it by the Executive Committee.
Council is also responsible for disciplining members of the Executive Committee and officials of confederations for any breach of the Region 5 Constitution, its rules, regulations, and by-laws or for misconduct likely to bring Region 5 into disrepute.
It is also one of the duties and functions of the Region 5 Council of Ministers to confer honours and awards on any Member State, team or individual for meritorious service rendered to AUSC Region 5 and for exceptional achievements in national, regional or international competitions.
Msungama has the unenviable task of leading Region 5 to excel under a very punishing operating environment due to Covid-19 induced restrictions.
Unlike previous Region 5 Youth Games host countries, Malawi has only one year to prepare for the hosting of the 10th edition of the Games scheduled for December 2 to 11, 2022. This follows the decision of the Region 5 Council of Ministers to host back-to-back Games after Maseru 2020 Games were deferred to 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new Region 5 Council of Ministers Chairperson will also be charged with the responsibility of ensuring the new organisational re-engineering process is implemented with minimum glitches.
The new organisational model will see the strategy, structure, skills and programmes of the Region being transformed under the 3S+P model.
In the newly proposes structure, for the first time, Permanent Secretaries in the Ministries responsible for sport in Member Countries will form an Advisory Board responsible for considering recommendations from the Region 5 Committee of Experts before tabling them for adoption by Council of Ministers.
That way, Permanent Secretaries will be part of the decision-making process of the Region unlike in the past where they were not consulted or involved in the decision-making processes and structures of the Region. With the strides that the Region has made under the leadership of the out-going Council of Ministers Chairperson, Tampane, Msungama’s work is cut out. Under the leadership of Tampane, the Region was able to introduce digital programmes to keep the organisation alive even under the weight of Covid-19 lockdowns that brought sport to a screeching halt from March 2020.
The Region was also able to successfully host the 9th edition of the Region 5 Youth Games receiving wide broadcasting coverage within the Region.
Among the several milestones registered during Tampane’s tenure, the Region signed several Memorandum of Agreement with the Global E-Sport, Accelerate Marketing Agency, University of Johannesburg and The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA).
The Region was also able to host several international webinars to advance significant agendas key among them being the celebration of Women’s Month in March 2021.
Online Reporter