New broom for sports
SUNDAY greetings! There is a new sheriff in town! We are overly excited at the appointment of the new Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, Bongani Nzima. We, at the Eswatini Sports and Recreation Council (ESRC), take the opportunity to congratulate the new minister on his appointment as the latest Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs. We would also like to thank His Majesty King Mswati III for the wonderful vision he has for sports in the kingdom. The king’s love for sports is really inspiring. His Majesty has consistently shown that he cares for sports and is actually a sportsman himself. We say Bayethe Wena Waphakathi.
Nzima takes over from the workaholic Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga, who was the previous minister. We are delighted to have Nzima as our new minister and look forward to a fruitful five-year working relationship with him. The fact that Nzima has, in the past been, exposed to a first world country like Switzerland puts us in good stead as a sporting fraternity. His overseas experience will definitely come in handy, as he executes his duties. We wish him well in his new endeavour. We would also like to take this time to appeal to the sporting fraternity to give the new minister all the co-operation he needs for him to deliver successfully. There is only little he can do without the support of the entire sports movement.
National Disability Sports Day Dec. 8
In line with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, celebrated annually by the United Nations (UN) on December 3, we will host a National Disability Sports Day. This one will however, be hosted on December 8, 2023. We at the ESRC, will host this great day for the first time in a very long while. The National Disability Sports Day primarily seeks to promote and create pathways for inclusion of persons living with disabilities at every level of society and development. As stated previously, people living with disabilities are among the most marginalised groups if not the most. They hardly get an opportunity to partake in sports. We at the ESRC, are providing them with the platform. It will be their day.
The Somhlolo National Stadium will be the place to be. The OlympAfrica Sports Development Centre will on the other hand host games such as netball, wheelchair basketball and volleyball to name just a few. It promises to be an exciting day, which will also be open to the members of the public. This is an opportunity for the business sector to partner with the ESRC for the delivery of this day. Let us join hands and make it a memorable one for our brothers and sisters who are living with disabilities. We are available for such partnerships.
Basketball Indaba 2023
The newly elected national executive of one of the country’s recognised National Sports Associations, Basketball Eswatini, has seen the need for an Indaba. When the new executive was elected to office, it apparently observed that the development of players and officials was lagging. It was noted that most of the countries in the region had taken great steps. The local association on the other hand faces the challenges of limited playing courts.
The executive has therefore, created a work plan, which would assist establish structures that develop the players, coaches and officials. The executive noted that for them to be able to execute it’s vision, they have deemed it prudent to call an Indaba, which will act as a consultative forum. The Indaba will gather information and solutions from the basketball stakeholders.