adminCommission had failed in fulfilling its mandate as stated by the law.
Chitando said the Sports Commission should be disbanded for the poor performances by various national teams on the international scene.
The Sports Commission is also under fire for the general poor administration in the way the national associations are being managed. The call for the dissolution of the Sports Commission comes at a time when it has been fighting a bruising boardroom battle with Zimbabwe Cricket, who rejected new directives to guide the appointment of national team selectors.
Chitando said Zimbabwe used to have renowned sportspersons who competed with the world’s best on the international scene.
“As a nation, we should be concerned with what is happening both at individual and team level. In boxing we used to have (boxers) Kilimanjaro (Proud Chinembiri) Langton ‘Schoolboy’ Tinago and Alphonso ‘Mosquito’ Zvenyika.
“If you go to tennis, we used to have the Black family (Byron, Wayne and Cara) and they shone on the international scene but all that is now history.
“The question is what has really happened to us?” he said.
Chitando said sports facilities like the City Sports Centre and the Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex were now being known for other activities that had nothing to do with sport.
He said cricket and soccer had let the nation down, through their poor performances on the international stage.
“When the Sports Commission was established in 1989, its mandate as stated in Section 19 of the SRC Act, was to co-ordinate, control and foster development of sport and recreation in the country, that is why we are calling for the dissolution of the Sports Commission because it has failed to achieve that mandate,” he said.
Chitando said a separate Ministry of Sport should be established instead of the current scenario where it is playing second fiddle to education in the combined Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture.
Mwenezi East House of Assembly representative, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, echoed the same sentiments, saying Zimbabwe should take sport seriously as it could address employment challenges being faced by the youth.
“This requires a new ministry to lead sport development at kindergarten, Grade 0 and primary school levels. Our approach should be two dimensional in that sport is a big employer.
“Sport is also cited in the empowerment document as one of the fields we can empower our youths. We need to empower our young people so that they can make a living from their talents,” he said.
Most sporting disciplines in this country have been affected by maladministration and underfunding that has negatively affected performances on the international stage.
Online Reporter