Story by Mthokozisi Dube
THE Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture has embarked on a countrywide tour to assess sports infrastructure, with a view to finding ways of improving the facilities.
Khumalo Hockey Stadium was constructed in 1995 when the country hosted the All Africa Games in Harare, and Bulawayo remains one of the best facilities, after Namibia and South African facilities got certification to stage continental hockey stadiums.
With an oversight role, Parliament used to summon stakeholders to give oral evidence, and now a new approach has seen the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee embarking on an inaugural visit to assess sports infrastructure.
The committee came face to face with how bureaucratic tendencies and unclear ownership structures are hindering the maintenance of sports facilities.
Matabeleland Hockey Board president David Small welcomed the Portfolio Committee visit.
“We are happy with the visit, the facility has the potential to generate revenue if they iron out some sticking issues like the lease agreement,” he said.
Unlike the other visited cities like Harare, Mutare, Masvingo, and Zvishavane, Bulawayo has enjoyed an infrastructure legacy having hosted big competitions, including the Region V Games.
“During the Region V, we had renovations in various sports infrastructure, but since then, nothing has been done. Khumalo Hockey Stadium does not have flood lights and to buy those we are referred from one office to the other,” member of the Bulawayo sporting fraternity said.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture Honourable Farai Jere said improvement of sports facilities is high on the agenda.
“The President is clear that we need to go with everyone, so as a committee we have decided to have firsthand information on the state of our facilities with the hope of finding solutions to some of these problems. We have realised that we can commercialise these facilities but the majority are owned by the wrong tenants. We want to advocate for a scenario where sports associations are in charge of the maintenance of their facilities. We will engage local authorities on this,” Honourable Jere said.
The sports fraternity concur on the need for an all-stakeholder approach to spruce-up sports facilities countrywide.
