Africa-Press – Uganda. I react to the story, ‘Sports needs a lot from its legislators’ in the Daily Monitor of February 1.
As a Ugandan, we have seen critical areas that were in dire need of funds to save and transform peoples lives, but when the funds were availed, they were misappropriated! The writer witnessed the northern Uganda war.
In the middle of the war of which people were paying in pain and blood, Uganda bought fake choppers! The Aids scourge has eaten Africa on the core base of its human resource, but the people managing the funds (GAVI funds), misappropriated it and it ended back in the countries that donated it. What assurance do you have that when the sports federations are given funds, it won’t be misappropriated?
Second, football gets the largest chunk of money because politicians want to use the opportunity to showcase themselves. Anything in Uganda that has got a cult kind of following, politicians will always attach themselves to it! You recall when Uganda needed to win match against Kenya and qualify for Afcon.
The politicians never wanted to miss the opportunity to share the light and whole thing got messed up making some players be suspended and we missed the chance just like that! A few weeks ago, the writer saw how a cult leader’s remains arrived to his home area, it wasn’t that he was that much loved, but it was a show of love by followers. All we need are charismatic sports leaders and managers who can take the extra mile for the sake of sports in the country. Moreover, we need a system for self-accounting of federation leaders so that giant companies like telecoms can sponsorship. Uganda’s sports problems are not really technical , but managerial!
Aggrey Abwetera,[email protected]
