THE Ministry of Sport and Recreation yesterday urged the Zimbabwe Wrestling Federation to complete the process of amending their constitution and elect a substantive committee to run their affairs.

The federation yesterday had an all-stakeholders meeting at the Sports Commission’s offices.

Sports and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane was also in attendance.

Hlongwane said for the sport to thrive, there was need to address the basic issues that have been affecting the day-to-day running of the association both at amateur and professional level.

“Basically wrestling in the country right now is in shambles. And we have an obligation as government as according to law to make sure that there is order in the wrestling sector and at two levels.

“First is the amateur wrestling which is guided by the Zimbabwe Wrestling Federation and is directed by the Sports and Recreation Commission as all other national sport associations.

“Secondly is the organisation of professional wrestling in the country which falls firmly under the province of influence of the Zimbabwe National Wrestling Control Board.

“I came into the Ministry and this board was not there. I didn’t see any signs of the fact that wrestling in the country is organised.

“We have taken a decision at the ministry that we need to have a revivalist approach for wrestling to come back into the country.

“Of course, to bring back the days of the mid-90s into the late 90s when wrestling was really thriving in the country we need to be able to do that,” said Hlongwane.

Hlongwane said they are going to appoint a board to run professional wrestling.

Other resolutions that were made include setting structures in all provinces and ensuring that they are active.

At the moment there are structures in Harare, Bulawayo, Manicaland and Mashonaland Central. 

The national federation’s secretary-general, Tapiwa Masinire, said they were also looking forward to the authorities addressing the issue of training equipment and facilities.

The federation has been running under the leadership of an interim committee led by vice-president John Chemura after the relocation of president Patterson Muzondiwa to Zambia in 2014.

The wrestling federation is using a 1994 constitution which is outdated.

And the Commission yesterday revealed that they have met with the federation several times to address the issue.

But the wrestling mother body has been taking its time after submitting the revised constitution in 2013.

Sports Commission acting director-general, Joseph Muchechetere, said they were willing to assist the federation complete the process and have the amended constitution.

“They submitted the amendments two to three years back. But unfortunately there were a lot of things that needed polishing up.

“We wrote to them and we met them. We have met them more than five times but they are still taking their time to come back and polish up their constitution.

“Otherwise we will help them, we have got the motivation to help them so that they are able to grow,” said Muchechetere.