REACTIONS TO BUDGET ALLOCATION:

Vulimpompi Nhleko (Parliament Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture Portfolio Committee Chairman):

“I’m excited by the increment of the sports budget this year which will make the ministry to be effective in executing its mandates. This is what we’ve been advocating for so to strengthen the muscle of our sports to match international standards together with our athletes. I would also like to thank Neal for ensuring that even sports benefit in his tough budget and aligning it with the Speech from the Throne.”

Nqaba Mkhaliphi (Eswatini Tennis Association SG):

“We’d like to thank government for the increment. It’s a sigh of relief for associations. We believe the allocation of associations will definitely increase. For us, we’re able to cater for development of our athletes but once they reach 16, we become cash strapped to ensure that they assess high performance facilities so that they remain competitive even in international stages. At that stage, they need high quality coaches and the travelling costs daily to tennis courts aren’t affordable

Victor ‘Mavikane’ Dlamini (Athletics Eswatini PRO):

‘I salute and would like to say it all comes back on government. I would like to thank ESRC that they have been with us while working under stringent budget in the past years. I believe that this money will help us improve our development as there is no short cuts to success in sports. I also look forward to improved international participation performance as we’ll be able to send out a bigger squad. Previously, you would find that we had to trim the team due to financial constraints.”

Mpendulo ‘Mshubegaca’ Dlamini (Eswatini National Volleyball Association):

“We’re very happy about the budget and we’d like to thank the government, the ministry and ESRC on this achievement. I’ve noticed this gradual increase in sports budget over the years. I think this will help us, especially in fulfilling our plans which need funding, such as the coaching courses and continental tournaments.”