Sports body in incentives plea

Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
THE country’s supreme sports body, the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC), has appealed to the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture to vigorously pursue the issue of tax incentives to corporate bodies that support sport.These incentives, they believe, will go a long way in the development of sport in the country.

Sponsorship for the Zimbabwe team which took part in the Africa Union Sports Council Region 5 Under-20 Youth Games came from government with Bulawayo businessmen hosting a welcome party for the team.

SRC’s corporate communications officer Tirivashe Nheweyembwa said it was worrying that only the government came on board to fund the operations of Team Zimbabwe.

“We need to do better as a country, surely we must work together as Zimbabweans if we are to develop our sporting industry which still requires a lot of support from the corporate world. One would have thought the corporate world was going to stampede to support either Team Zimbabwe or the local organising committee,” said Nheweyembwa.

The concerns by the SRC are an indirect plea to the government to realise that sport is one of the few fastest growing industries in the world which cannot be ignored.

There is need for an analysis as to why the corporate world continues to shun sporting events in Zimbabwe, some of which are actively involved in sports sponsorship in neighbouring countries.

The Minister of Sport, Andrew Langa, must take up the challenge with his cabinet colleagues and try to come up with viable tax incentives that will entice companies to come back into sport.

Minister Langa has a perfect opportunity to leave a lasting legacy in the history of sport in Zimbabwe by tirelessly calling for tax incentives and making sure an Act of parliament is enacted to that effect and only then can the corporate world be blamed for not supporting sport in Zimbabwe.

In October 2013, soon after assuming office, Minister Langa promised to push for tax rebates but more than a year later, that still remains a pipe dream.