Nqwele Dube Sports Correspondent
THE National Sports and Recreation Policy is now with Cabinet for deliberation after which it is going to become effective. Officially opening the ongoing National Sports Convention at Bulawayo Polytechnic yesterday, Sport and Recreation Minister, Makhosini Hlongwane said Cabinet was seized with the document. Hlongwane said the National Sports and Recreation Strategy was also on the cards.

 “The National Sports and Recreation Policy is now with Cabinet and should be passed any time soon. It is critical as it will set clear parameters in our sports and give us the directional thrust in terms of coming up with legislation that will guide the sporting industry.  We also have the National Sports Strategy which will be availed to the industry in the not distant future, which is aimed at defining the implementable strategies and give us direction so that we know where we are going,” said Hlongwane.

He heaped praise on women in sport saying they had made remarkable achievements in recent years and the country was riding on the success of female athletes citing the Mighty Warriors who qualified for the Rio Olympics and African Women Cup of Nations, the netball national team, who are the reigning continental champions, the hockey team, which will feature at the Hockey Women’s Juniors World Cup taking place in Chile later this year and Hellen Sinclair Costa who holds the crown of the IBFF Ms International Fitness Figure and Ms Universe Figure and young Tanya Muzinda who is holding her own in the motocross world.

 “We can’t keep on harping about equality in sport when we are not implementing it and I believe it is high time women, the disabled and those in outlying areas get the opportunity to take part in main stream and are given the necessary support. We have to ask ourselves why a talented player in Kezi will never make his way to Highlanders and these are problems we should be addressing,” he said.

Hlongwane praised ZScore Events and Sports Marketing for organising a platform at which critical sports issues are brought to the fore. Addressing the gathering the Minister of State in the Office of the Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, Tabetha Kanengoni-Malinga said Government had to partly fund sport.

She said it was unfortunate WBC welterweight silver champion  Charles Manyuchi was being trained in Zambia when he should be doing so locally.

The fifth edition of the Sports Convention, which kicked off on Friday and ends today, was attended by people from across the sporting spectrum and some of the notable speakers included Castle Lager Premier Soccer League chief executive officer, Kenny Ndebele, director of sport in the Sports and Recreation Ministry, Eugenia Chidhakwa and Zimbabwe Olympic Committee chief executive officer, Anna Mguni.