- Her ministry assumes full control of NSS
- Kirsty faces daunting task of mobilising funds
IN an ironic development, the minister of Youth, Arts and Sports Kirsty Coventry on Tuesday celebrated inheriting full control of the dilapidated National Sports Stadium, Zim Morning Post can reveal.
Coventry made the announcement via her micro- blogging twitter handle.
“It has been agreed that ownership and the operations of the National Sports Stadium in Zimbabwe will be transferred to the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation. We have the experience and passion to use this opportunity for Zimbabwe to become a sporting powerhouse.”
“ZIFA have failed to assure Confederation of African Football (CAF) that the work we are doing in the stadiums will safeguard our National Teams playing home games in Zimbabwe. ZIFA now has to come up with a stadium for our teams to play home games outside of Zimbabwe,” reads her tweet.
This development gives Coventry a Herculean task to mobilise mega funds to cater for the refurbishment of the city stadia.
CAF recently banned all the stadiums in Zimbabwe from hosting international football matches because they do not meet CAF international standards.
CAF banned the use of Barbourfields, the latest stadium to be condemned, after the National Sports Stadium, Gwanzura and Rufaro were declared unsuitable to host international matches.
Meanwhile, municipalities have been accused of dragging their feet in the refurbishment of stadiums, while the National Sports Stadium is owned by government, through the Sports and Recreation Commission.
However, Acting Leader of Government Business in Parliament, State Security Minister Owen Ncube, lambasted local authorities and blamed them for failing to maintain stadiums.
“It is the responsibility of local authorities to refurbish stadiums, but if financial resources were there it was going to be government responsibility,” Ncube said.
Gwanzura stadium in Highfield had been turned into a love nest by commercial sex workers operating around the Machipisa area where there is brisk business.
Several independent organisations have started lobby campaigns to see the stadium rehabilitated.
Meanwhile, ZIFA has secured Orlando Stadium , Soweto in South Africa for the match against Algeria slated for March 31.
