Ndlovu vying for ZOC post

IT’S just two days to go before the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee elections and Frederick Ndlovu, who is vying for the positions of vice president and board member, says it’s time for fresh ideas.

The ZOC elections will be held on Sunday at their general assembly at Prince Edward School to elect a new board that will lead the National Olympic Committee for the next four years.

Other contestants for the two vice-presidents’ posts are seven-time Olympic medallist, Kirsty Coventry, Northern Region Division One soccer league vice-chairperson, Martin Kweza and Thabani Gonye.

Ndlovu contested for the same post in 2013 but lost to Busi Chindove and Gonye.

The former Zimbabwe Volleyball Association president believes he has enough experience to become one of the two vice-presidents for ZOC after spending two decades in sport.

“I strongly feel that I have been in the trenches of sport for two decades now and I have gained enough experience to start sharing that experience in a more influential position.

“I feel it is time for ZOC to have fresh thinking, fresh ideas and my role, that I want to contribute to the vision of the association is to bring that positive change and positive thinking. To bring issues of good corporate governance, accountability, transparency, fairness, equality into the organisation,” said Ndlovu.

Ndlovu said while not taking anything away from the outgoing board, there are areas that need to be looked at such as the role the National Olympic Committee can play in the development of infrastructure.

“I strongly feel that Zimbabwe being one of the leading countries in the Southern Africa, it’s high time we should be having things like an Olympic Centre, a development centre, multi-purpose indoor infrastructure because we lack those issues as an organisation.

“I know ZOC in terms of leading academically, being a model National Olympic Committee in Africa, they have been a mentor for many countries. But I think we are lacking seriously in terms of infrastructure.

“And ZOC is in a better position as an overall board to lobby for such facilities and be the custodian of such a facility,” Ndlovu said.

The 47-year-old joined the ZVA in 2007 and was president for two terms which came to an end last December.

He was the treasurer for the national association before becoming the president.

Before that he was the chairperson for Bulawayo and Matabeleland North.

Ndlovu is the current Zone Six Confederation of African Volleyball president after his elevation from the position of secretary-general and commissioner for development he held for four years.