Chronicle Editor
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 troika of ministers’ meeting unanimously resolved to postpone the fifth edition of the Regional Annual Sports Awards (Rasa) that were slated for Eswatini on May 20.
The annual event was put on hold due to outbreak of Covid-19 and will now be held on a later date along with other activities that have also been postponed to the second half of the year as the world battles with the global pandemic that has so far claimed thousands of lives including sports personalities.
“The troika of ministers took a decision to halt all activities of the region in the first half of the year due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus in the world and in particular in our region. With most of our member countries having introduced responsive measures that include strict social distancing and travel restrictions, the ministers complemented governments’ efforts by postponing all sports activities of the region, which include, but not limited to Rasa,” said Ausc chief executive officer Stanley Mutoya in a statement.
Rasa celebrates excellence and outstanding performances by sportspersons with the aim of motivating and celebrating iconic achievements by athletes and working towards the development of sports in the region.
It is only open to countries that hold their own National Annual Sports Awards since winners of these national awards automatically become nominees for the regional awards.
“The region is delighted to note that all 10-member countries now host their own awards, up from six that were hosting when Rasa were introduced in 2016. The event has grown in popularity over the years and has continued to attract attention of athletes, administrators and technical officials,” said AUSC projects and marketing manager Siyabonga Sangweni.
Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister Kirsty Coventry, a swimming icon in her own right, rugby coach Gilbert Nyamutsamba and South African middle-distance queen Caster Semenya are some of the notable recipients of past Rasa awards.
Nominees for the fifth edition of the Rasa were already being submitted ahead of the voting process that should have started on Wednesday last week after a verification audit.
“Given the postponement of the event and the fact that the voting process had not yet commenced, we will have to reconsider the event delivery roadmap to recast the process once we have a clearer picture of the status of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Mutoya.
The AUSC Region 5 is a microcosm of what existed since the 1960s as the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA) which was established on December 14, 1966, and served as a specialised agency for the Organisation of African Union (OAU) for the coordination of African sports and to utilise sports in the struggle against colonialism and apartheid on the continent.
The SCSA was essentially a political organisation that furthered the aims and objectives of the OAU through sport.
It was harmonised into the African Union on July 14, 2013, at the fifth conference of African Ministers of Sport held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, that resulted in the birth of AUSC, whose headquarters are in Yaounde, Cameroon.
AUSC’s major objective is to stimulate sports growth and excellence on the continent while using sports to achieve peace, integration and unity.
The AU divided Africa into five sports development regions with the Southern African countries falling in Region 5.
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