‘MADZE’ MUST FIND OUR ‘WHY’ AS A COUNTRY!

My dearest readers ... Writing in the Sydney Herald yesterday, columnist, Ralph Ashton illustrated why short-term thinking is causing long-term problems for Australia.

“Australia is doing well on many fronts, whether compared with other countries or our own history. At the same time, we are trapped in a state of akrasia – knowing what to do in our best interests but steadfastly refusing to do so. In other words, short-termism,”

He added: “It’s almost 120 years since the ground rules for Australia were set at Federation. The world has changed dramatically and Australia’s system for making important decisions hasn’t kept up. It’s like there’s a bunch of new hardware and software but Australia hasn’t updated its operating system,”
His well written piece provoked my thinking this Tuesday morning on what really is our WHY as a sporting nation. Maybe this is the basis of all our challenges as a sporting nation nay as a country – be it socially, politically and economically.
We may point towards lack of resources and finances as the main reason we have continued to under-achieve on the international stage but the truth of the matter and underlying factor is that we don’t have a vision as a country in the first place.

purposes

Why do we play sports? What do we want to achieve? Are we into sports for leisure purposes, social cohesion or to compete?
These are the questions we need to ask ourselves.
Maybe we do not even need the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs if we don’t really know why it exists and if we do not have a vision.

That’s why I want to address this to our new Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga that we are lagging behind because we do not have a vision that will be understood and embraced by not only government, but the nation itself. Whether it is a long-term or a short-term vision, every stakeholder should embrace it. As it is now, we are trudging in a forest yet we can’t see the trees!
As ‘Madze’ tries to make sense of the mess and all the challenges faced by his ministry, it is critical that he gets the Sports Act in place and then get the vision for his ministry so that there can be a way forward.

strides

Other nations have made great strides on the international scene because they have a clear vision and policies that enhance the sporting industry.
Take for instance a country like South Africa, their WHY for sports was certainly social cohesion. After years of racial divide, they have used sports to integrate and create the Rainbow Nation which they aspire to be.
Sport has played a pivotal role in this regard. They do not just compete but the bigger picture is social cohesion. Before Russia hosted FIFA’s crown jewel, the World Cup this year, it was not a preferred tourist destination.
The ‘Land of the Vodka’ was renowned for its hooliganism, racism, nationalism, homophobia and sexism”.

But hosting the World Cup has helped change all those negative connotations about the country while boosting its economy in the process.
There is public investment in infrastructures, tourism during and after the event; better branding which attracts foreign investors and better integration in the international business community.
Those are some of the benefits Russian President Vladimir Putin argued about when he spearheaded the 2018 World Cup bid.

competing

For us, let us first find our WHY as a country then we can start dreaming about competing on the international scene and contributing to the socio-economic situation of our country.
Mr. Minister, that’s where we need to start as a country – WHY do we play sports and WHY the Ministry exist in the first place and what we seek to achieve as a sporting nation.
If we can answer those questions earnestly then we would have taken the first step towards excellence.
Can I get an Amen?

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