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Lovemore Zigara in Gweru
MIDLANDS yesterday set up a 15-member Sport and Recreation Development Board whose mandate is to oversee the development of sport in the province.

The board will report to Midlands Provincial Affairs Minister Jason Machaya.

The board selection process was overseen by Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC) acting director-general Joseph Muchechetere.

Among the board members are prominent Gweru lawyer Reginald Chidawanyika, Norman Chivi, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority provincial officer Lizzie Murandu and Tapiwa Dzinoreva.

Other members of the board will be seconded by various stakeholders, which include rural district councils, urban councils, uniformed forces, Nash, Naph, tertiary institutions, the Chamber of Mines and the corporate world.

Muchechetere said the move is part of the Government’s efforts to empower communities.

“The world over, sport is a tool for development in communities and this initiative is part of the move to ensure that people take charge of sport in their localities. In the past, people would say sport is for Government, hence you would find the vandalism of sport facilities,” said Muchechetere.

“We now want the people themselves to own the processes and activities of sport. This is the new thrust we have adopted to speed up the process of taking sport to the people and as we take sport to the people, we are going to motivate community development.”

In his keynote address, Minister Machaya, who was represented by deputy director in his office Charles Mutambairi, said effective organisation of sport contributed towards national unity and urged all stakeholders to fund sport and recreation.

Sport and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane is expected to tour various sporting facilities in Gweru today where he will also meet heads of different sporting associations.

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