Corry Ihuhua
4 September 2008
NAMIBIA Rugby Union president Dirk Conradie has taken a swipe at Government for not investing enough money in sport in general and rugby in particular .
"We have gone to three world cups, our under-19 boys have been crowned African champions for two consecutive years, but still, we do not get the support of Government financially.
What more do you want us to do?" Conradie asked at the arrival of the team yesterday.
The under-19 rugby side won the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) Cup at the weekend when they beat Zimbabwe 16-13 in the final in Tunis to keep their cup they won last year.
"Do you realise that these young men are African champions? What is it that you don't understand about this? What do you want us to tell you?" a clearly bitter Conradie asked Deputy Minister of Sport Pohamba Shifeta, who was in attendance.
Conradie, unhappy about the lack of Government support for the team, which had to be bailed out with a N$350 000 sponsorship by MTC just a day before their departure, challenged the Minister of Sport, his deputy and the Government to invest more money in sport.
"If they (Government) don't want to invest in sport, they should say so.
But for now, I am thankful to our biggest sponsor MTC for showing their commitment towards sport and for standing behind the team which ultimately brought home the prize," he said, pointing at Shifeta.
Government invests N$20 million in sport each year, with about 50 sports codes getting a share, while MTC alone injects more than N$10 million a year into the various sport codes.
Conradie said some of the current under-19 players are earmarked to compete at the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, and they need the support of Government to start with their preparations now.
"We don't want to start a few months before the tournament.
We have submitted our strategic plan for the next world cup and we would like to see the Government commit itself to this cause.
We want to prepare long in advance," he said.
"Please do not destroy our strategic plan by not giving anything.
You as the Government can give us a few million, but not thousands, to prepare ourselves well for these world events," he said.
Conradie, who is expected to step down in October, said he is aware that there are many other sports codes that get more money than rugby.
"We are one of the few sporting codes that represent Namibia at major international competitions, yet we receive so little money compared to other codes which get more money but produce little or no results," he said.
Shifeta in response said the current sports policy is outdated and needs to be reviewed for Government to seriously look into giving more money to sport.
"At the moment, Government cannot put more into something which has no clear policies, but for now, I believe we need to sit and devise a programme how the national rugby team can be better prepared for the next events," he said.
He admitted that there were codes that performed exceptionally well with the little financial resources at their disposal.
MTC spokesman Albertus Aochamub said he was glad that the sports pages will now be filled with the positive stories of the under-19s winning the African Cup.
"We as a nation are so accustomed to losing and stories such as administrative wrangles and fights among officials occupy the sports pages.
But now, we can proudly say these young men can tell a positive story," he said.
"Now we can hold our heads high and take on the best, not only in Africa but in the world.
We should have winning teams, and not be a nation that moans and loses all the time," he said.
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