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ZOMBODZE IN AUSC REGION 5 HALL OF FAME

07/12/2020 01:07:00 BY THEMBA ZWANE

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MBABANE – The fruits of his labour continue to manifest.

That is former Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA) President Robert Zombodze Magagula.

He is among seven members inducted into the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Sports Hall of Fame.

The decision to induct the seven personalities into the Region 5 Sports Hall of Fame was made during their virtual extra-ordinary meeting held on Friday December 4, 2020.

The ministers held an online meeting which was attended by six of the 10 member countries. Ministers of South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique and Lesotho could not attend the meeting due to various unforeseen circumstances.

decisions

Among the many significant decisions made by the council during their meeting was the ratification of the election of the new Secretariat, which was elected during the AUSC Region 5 Executive Committee meeting held on Friday, November 27, 2020.

The newly-elected members of the Secretariat will now be Moreetsi Imon Bogosi of Botswana as Chairperson. He replaces Dr Vetumbuavi Veii of Namibia. Raphael Mulenga of Zambia assumes the position of Vice Chairperson replacing George Jana of Malawi.

Eugenia Chidhakwa of Zimbabwe was elected Chairperson of the Sports Development Technical Commission replacing Antonio Gomes of Angola. Lawrence Buyani Mthethwa was re-elected in the position of Chairperson Finance and Marketing Commission. All four members of the Secretariat were elected unopposed.

The council also ratified members to be inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame, which will be part of the Region 5 Museum being established in Zimbabwe.

These are Maria Mutola (Mozambique), Dr Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe), Reverend Dr Makhenkesi Arnold Stofile - Posthumously (South Africa), Matilda Mwaba (Zambia), Robert Magagula (Eswatini), Joel Lubombo (Mozambique) and Boyce Sebetela (Botswana).

EOCGA CEO Sydney Simelane said they did not yet have a correspondence on Magagula’s recognition.

“We know that he has been a member of COSANOC but we have not yet received any correspondence on the recognition you are talking about,” he said briefly.

ESRC Media Officer Dumisani Ntiwane could not be immediately reached for comment as his mobile phone was switched off.

rebuild

Meanwhile, during their deliberations, the ministers committed to rebuilding the sports industry through stimulus response interventions and calculated risk-weighted return to play strategies. They further committed themselves to support efforts to commercialise sport and gradually move away from over-reliance on government subventions and fiscal dependency.

The ministers challenged each member country to account for their actions in the implementation of approved regional programmes and activities. They made an emphatic statement on their commitment to transform sport into a viable economic industry that stimulates business investment and creates a corridor for accelerated youth empowerment and employment creation, social cohesion and social capital beneficiation.