By Darlington Gatsi
THE Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts and Recreation has recommended the construction of a new stadium in Mt Hampden to address the ongoing stadia crisis.
The country is currently grappling with the deterioration of sporting facilities many of which have been condemned by relevant governing bodies.
Consequently, Zimbabwean national teams are enduring the embarrassing situation of playing international matches outside the country.
Speaking at the pre-budget seminar in Bulawayo Thursday, the committee’s chairperson, Chamu Chiwanza, said the government should construct a stadium which he proposed will be named after President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“It is imperative to start to cast light on the state of our nation’s sporting facilities. On the 2024 performance outcome, I spoke about the epidemic which is the stadia. I propose that the treasury and the minister here should come up with a special fund that ensures that stadiums, particularly the National Sports Stadium can be renovated.
“As a committee, we propose that we build a new stadium at the new City and we already have a new name for it and it is called the Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa stadium,” said Chiwanza.
Chiwanza also acknowledged that while the renovations are underway at the National Sports Stadium the government should look beyond refurbishing the giant facility.
“The National Sports Stadium is old, yes we are doing renovations on it. We put together a sub-committee which was chaired by honourable Jere and went there and realised that 45 percent was complete,” said Chiwanza.
The National Sports Stadium was condemned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 2021 after failing to meet the required standards to host international matches.
The facility’s deterioration is so severe that it was flagged by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) First Instance Body (FIB) to host local Premier Soccer League games (PSL).
Despite several promises to refurbish the stadium, the government has been lackadaisical in completing the renovations.
Deputy Minister of Sports, Emily Jesaya, said the ministry’s efforts to secure funds were thwarted by the Treasury.
“We have also tried to apply for funds from the Ministry of Finance but unfortunately we did not manage to get a release from the treasury,” said Jesaya.
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