adminAllen Khumalo, Sports Reporter
THE Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) Bulawayo will launch a Community Sports and Recreational Development Programme (CSRDP) for Mzilikazi district at Emakhandeni grounds next month.
CSRDP is an initiative whose purpose is to identify talent at grassroots level as well as discouraging criminal activities by members of the community through participation in sports.
Community sports have been inactive in the city since 2013, but are set to return as an organised initiative under the Ministry of Sport and Recreation.
The revival of community games will see teams from Bulawayo’s wards competing in soccer, netball, volleyball, tug of war and boxing.
Community wards are expected to register their clubs under the Ministry of Sport and Recreation by the end of the month in different sporting disciplines.
“We will be launching this programme on December 3 and we expect every ward to have clubs that will be competing in league games as well as inter-ward competitions.
“We are working together with ward councillors as well as the Bulawayo Residents Association to give us access to recreational centres around the city and they support the idea.
“Those centres should be available for every community member and we wish to ensure that they serve their purposes,” said Mzilikazi district development sports coordinator Mlindazwe Mabhena.
“This programme will promote activities like youth education through sport whereby we want to reduce criminal activities. Clubs must be registered with the Ministry of Sport and Recreation because we want to avoid doing sports haphazardly. When they have registered, they can be easily monitored with the help of ward councillors,” Mabhena said.
CSRDP secretary Morris Mukwiti said the programme will also play an important role in the community as it will enable members to stay fit and avoid pre-mature deaths.
“Most people die pre-mature deaths, which can be easily prevented through exercise. Through this initiative we encourage residents to take part in sports or any other recreational activity to curb diseases.
“I also believe that there is a lot of talent out there which needs to be nurtured at an early stage, so this programme will serve that purpose and produce superstars,” he added.
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