Hlongwane slams poor facilities
SPORT and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane has been irked by the neglect of sporting facilities in Kadoma and has lashed out at the Municipality for turning a blind eye to the rot.
Hlongwane, who toured Kadoma, was not amused by what he saw, especially the dilapidated state of sporting facilities, such as the swimming pool in the Mashonaland West Town.
The Minister expressed his outrage in a statement yesterday and also warned other municipalities that are neglecting sporting facilities and stifling development in their areas.
In an era where sport has become a multi-billion dollar industry, Hlongwane has every reason to be outraged as facilities are badly needed to help create employment and also provide entertainment to the communities.
“The state of neglect of sport and recreation facilities is shockingly unacceptable and has reached never-seen-before-lows while is it not befitting for a place to be regarded as one of Zimbabwe’s seven cities.
“The Minister discovered that Kadoma City has no functional public swimming pool although the city had previously invested in two huge swimming pools.
“The Minister was dismayed that only slightly over $500 was required to get the main swimming pool functional yet the city administration was choosing to turn a blind eye to such an important public social amenity.
“The Minister calls on Kadoma City to attend to and reverse the decay it is currently presiding over and provide a befitting service to its residents in the area of sport and recreation,’’ the statement read.
Hlongwane was also not amused with the actions of the municipal authorities which amounted to a major disservice to the residents of Kadoma, a city where some of the finest talents in various sporting disciplines have emerged.
“The city is doing a major disservice to its residents as well as an entire generation of would-be athletes, who are being denied a right to an important career pathway if the sport and recreation facilities were maintained,’’ Hlongwane said.
The Minister also revealed he will be embarking on a whirlwind tour of sport and recreation facilities in cities across the country.
There have also been genuine concerns that the Ministry could be losing a lot of money in potential revenue that could be generated from the recreational facilities in the country.
On Monday, Hlongwane also met with ZIFA president Philip Chiyangwa and Prophetic Healing Deliverance Ministries founder Prophet Walter Mayaga, where the construction of facilities was high on the agenda.
Ironically, Magaya was frustrated by the Chitungwiza Town Council when he tried to assist in the refurbishment of the dilapidated Chibuku Stadium.
Hlongwane is understood to be eager to convince his colleagues in cabinet to drive a massive sports infrastructure development programme that would put Zimbabwe in good stead to bid for the staging of Confederation of African Football tournaments in 2021.
Magaya appears to have embraced the bid to construct the stadiums and offered to assist the government in the construction of new stadiums or refurbishment of existing facilities.
Although CAF have already awarded Cote d’Ivoire the right to stage the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the Ivorians, just like any other host nation of such a major tournament, would have to satisfy the CAF organising committee for the AFCON games on their state of preparedness.
Cote d’Ivoire, who hosted the 1984 Nations Cup and the inaugural CHAN tournament in 2009, have launched an ambitious bid to build three news stadiums in Abidjan (60 000 seater) and two 20 000 capacity venues in Korhogo and San Pedro by 2021.
While the Nations Cup might appear out of reach for Zimbabwe given that CAF, under Issa Hayatou had also awarded the 2023 tournament to Guinea, Chiyangwa wants Zimbabwe to stand ready should the continental body come calling for hosts for Under-17, Under-20 and Under-23 competitions.
And Hlongwane, who has insisted on a business approach to sport in the country, has thrown his weight behind ZIFA’s plan and that bid has also received the blessings of the Warriors’ new benefactor Magaya.