admin
Langton Nyakwenda
WHILE the Government’s top priority is to refurbish the National Sports Stadium, the poor state of other key facilities such as Chitungwiza’s Aquatic Complex has also grabbed the attention of the House of Assembly.
The Aquatic Complex was built ahead of the 1995 All-Africa Games, which were hosted in Zimbabwe but is now in a state of disrepair, following decades of neglect.
A state-of-the-art tennis court was also constructed in the dormitory town, which is also home to the now derelict Chibuku Stadium.
The stadium which used to host Premier Soccer League matches in the 1990s, is now often used as a car park.
Chitungwiza’s sports infrastructure crisis was raised in Parliament by St Mary’s legislator Brighton Mazhindu on Wednesday.
Mazhindu asked the Minister of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture to inform the House whether there were any plans by the Ministry to upgrade sporting facilities in Chitungwiza, a renowned conveyor belt of sporting talent.
Several top football personalities including former national team skipper Norman Mapeza, PSL record-breaking ex-Dynamos coach Kalisto Pasuwa, and CAPS United legend Lloyd Chitembwe are among many, who were born and raised in Chitungwiza.
National cricket team players, including Wesley Madhevere, Milton Shumba, and Clive Madande also hail from Chi-tungwiza as does, ex-national heavyweight champion Arigoma Chiponda.
Worryingly, the town does not have a single functioning sports facility.
Responding to Mazhindu’s concern, Deputy Minister of Sports, Recreation, Arts, and Culture Emily Jesaya re-emphasised the Government’s mandate.
“One of the Ministry’s mandates is to ensure that there is access to sport and recreation for all,” said Jesaya.
“The Ministry is guided by the National Sport and Recreation Policy, which states that the Ministry shall work close-ly with the Ministries and Departments in the facilitation of the provision and maintenance of sport and recreation infrastructure across the country.” One of the major issues in Chitungwiza has been the continued decay of Chibuku Stadium, which gave a platform to hundreds of former soccer stars such as Stewart Murisa, Alois Bunjira, Mapeza, and Chitembwe.
They all played for former Premier Soccer League side Darryn T, which enjoyed massive support at Chibuku in the 1990s.
There have been attempts to renovate the stadium in recent years.
Yadah Stars owner, Walter Magaya, approached Chitungwiza Town Council seeking approval to upgrade the stadi-um in 2017 but his bid hit a brick wall, amid allegations that some councillors demanded a kick-back from Magaya.
He shifted his focus to Waterfalls where he built the Heart Stadium, which now hosts PSL and Division One match-es.
“The Chibuku Stadium is owned by the Chitungwiza City Council.
“The provisions of Urban Councils Act Chapter 29:19 and Rural District Councils Act 29:13, underscore that the Council has the responsibility to adorn and maintain any facility under the control of the Council,” Jesaya told the House.
She added: “The Ministry, however, remains mindful to work closely with Chitungwiza City Council towards the refurbishment of any sporting facilities.”
The Chitungwiza Tennis Court is also owned by the municipality.
There is also an ongoing dispute over the ownership of the piece of land on which the courts were built.
“The Ministry encourages that the Councils work with Tennis Zimbabwe once the land dispute on the ownership of the facility is resolved,” said Jesaya.
The ownership wrangle disrupted plans by TZ to resuscitate the facility some years ago. However, the Ministry of Sport remains committed to championing the renovation of all major sporting facilities across the country.
“The government has already kick-started a project that will see multi-purpose sports courts being constructed in all the country’s provinces.
“The Ministry has also embarked on a strategy to engage investors to fund the renovations of sports facilities.
“Guided by the policy and NDS1 strategy, the Ministry is working on upgrading and resuscitation of Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex.
“The Ministry has embarked on a strategy to engage suitable investors and sustainable partnerships such as Build-Operate-Own and Transfer (BOT), Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) for infrastructure and facilities development across mega sporting facilities.
“With this in mind, the Ministry is assessing possibilities of attracting a financier or investors for our sport facilities earmarked for resuscitation.”
She also revealed that the Government’s main focus was to complete refurbishment works at the National Sports Stadium, which has not hosted international matches since 2021. The next stop will be Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex.
“Other facilities the Ministry has earmarked for refurbishment are Bulawayo’s Khumalo Hockey Stadium and Hara-re’s Magamba Hockey Stadium,” said Jesaya.
Online Reporter