Minister Hlongwane
Brighton Zhawi in Bulawayo
Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhosini Hlongwane has congratulated the Young Gems for qualifying for the Netball World Cup and maintaining excellence from women sport in the country.
The national netball youth team which made history in Botswana was welcomed by the ‘’elated” minister in Bulawayo yesterday.
“First and foremost, a big hearty congratulations to you for a job well done,” Hlongwane said.
“You as netball but most importantly as women in sport you’re reproducing new knowledge on how to win for Team Zimbabwe.
“You’re generating a new template of how to produce results.”
Hlongwane commended the team for showing resilience, not only at the qualifiers, but also during their “tough” preparations.
“With the kind of conditions that you’ve described during your camp, it would be unheard of to produce results under those circumstances.
“As the Minister of Sport in the country I must commend that.”
The national 21 and under team camped at St Peter’s School in Harare’s high-density suburb of Mbare for seven weeks where they slept in a classroom.
They would also walk to and from the Stodart Netball Complex for training sessions.
The minister added: “Our sports and recreation policy is due to be going into Cabinet anytime so that it will be passed. That will be the crowning moment for the sports sector in the country.
“One of the things I corrected last week was a paragraph on women in sport.”
Hlongwane, who promised to host the Young Gems for dinner when he returns from the Rio Olympics, is impressed with how Zimbabwe women have shone in international events in recent times.
“As it turns out whether it is by coincidence or by accident, women in sport in Zimbabwe at the moment represent our comparative advantage as a country,” he said.
“Netball has done well in the seniors you’re the gold medalist, now you have qualified for the World Cup.
“At the Olympics, Kirsty Coventry has won several times and as far as hockey is concerned the Under-21s have also qualified for the World Cup.
“In cricket, which is doing very badly I must say, the women have done very well they have qualified to go to the West Indies for the final qualifiers of the World Cup.
“The women footballers are in Rio as we speak, having qualified for the first time since Independence.
“Most importantly, they also qualified to the Afcon finals.
“It’s incredible what women are doing. To be fair to our women in sport,
it’s very clear to me that a trajectory is beginning to develop, unfold and unravel that represents what could easily become our comparative advantage,” he said.
Hlongwane also took a swipe at the Zimbabwe Netball Association for shunning his office for assistance despite crying foul over the lack of Government support.