Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Minister of Gender, Youth, Sports and Recreation Hon. Likeleli Tampane announced the Board for Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the upcoming 2020 African Union Sports Council (AUSC)
Region 5 games scheduled for December 2021 in Maseru. According to the statement issued by the Ministry of Gender, Youth, Sports and Recreation (MGYSR) last week, the
board was appointed as per the requirement by the Regional Organizing Committee that every host nation should establish its board prior to hosting of the games.
It further showed that due to the pre-condition by the Regional Organizing Committee, that the board members should consist of experts in the sporting fraternity and related sectors.
“The Honorable Minister appointed the board members from the following; Sport/academia/Social Development, Academia
and Sport [National University of Lesotho] NUL and [Lesotho National Olympic Committee] LNOC, Lesotho Tourism Development Cooperation, [Information and
Communication Technology] ICT Space and Sport, Sport/Nutrition and Hospitality-[Lesotho Sport and Recreation Committee] LSRC, Protocol and Creative Arts, relevant Government Ministries, Sport/International
Relations-LNOC, Institution(s) of Higher Learning, Business Sector-Marketing, Security Sector ([Lesotho Defence Force] LDF, [Lesotho Mounted Police Service] LMPS and [National
Security Service] NSS), Sport and Logistics, Sport and [Non-Governmental Organization] NGO-Setting LSRC and Ex-Officious,” reads the statement. MGYSR Chief Information Officer
Maqalika Matsepe, in an interview with Informative Sport, said the board for LOC members has been designated two weeks back. He said the board is mandated to oversee the work of LOC which include the formation and the
functions of the services and structural requirements such as accommodation, accreditation, catering, ceremonies and entertainment, finance and investment,
games village and services, health, emergencies and anti-doping, infrastructure development, marketing and public relations, protocol, security, technical,
transport and volunteers. He showed that the ministry has been awarded over M280 million that was approved by the Cabinet in April after the presentation of the 2021/2022 fiscal year budget.
“The money will be used for infrastructure development and renovation of sports grounds that are not more than 35
Kilometers in distance from Maseru such as Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena, Setsoto Stadium, Makoanyane, LCS, NUL excluding Leshoboro Sports Complex in Mafeteng,”
Matsepe indicated. He added that the funding is also aimed to shape the strongest team in Lesotho that will represent the country in the AUSC Region 5 tournaments in various sporting codes like Football, Netball,
Volley Ball, Tennis and Taekwondo. AUSC is the right wing of African Union (AU) and the contributing countries work together in sports fraternities to bring peace and unity in the African continent.
The member countries of AUSC region 5 are Lesotho, Botswana, Angola, Swaziland, Malawi, Namibia, South-Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The games were halted by absence of funds last year as the government was said to be grappling the Covid-19 pandemic.
