STATEMENT BY THE RT HON PRIME MINISTER

 

DR B.SIBUSISO DLAMINI

 

AT THE LAUNCH OF THE TINKHUNDLA REGIONAL SHUKUMA FOOTBALL MENU

 

AT SWAZILAND WATER SERVICES CORPORATION HEADQUARTERS, EZULWINI

 

WEDNESDAY 25 MAY 2016

Honourable Ministers

Members of Portfolio Committee of both Houses of Parliament

Chief Executive and Board of the Swaziland National Sports and

Recreation Council

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

In terms of numbers of participants, football does not rank as the most popular sport in the world. I believe angling – that is inshore fishing – has that distinction. But those statistics overlook the passion that association football, or soccer as we also know it, arouses among followers of the sport. When those numbers are quantified and included, soccer comes first by more than the length of a football pitch!

It is a sport that provides, for players, a wonderful combination of skill and athleticism, and for the millions of supporters and other spectators, world-wide, a compelling extra-curriculum interest. It can be an active involvement for the youngsters or a lifelong passion for former participants during later adulthood. And it appeals to the non-players who are simply devoted to the sport and the progress of their teams.

And deep in the game there is the competitive dimension that is an integral part of almost every sport, especially in a team context. Player or supporter, you want to win. It drives you to train harder and make the best effort in the match. It causes you to scream in celebration or misery, at goals scored or conceded. That competitiveness exists in players and supporters. It does not always produce the most exemplary behaviour but in Swaziland, at least, the conduct of the players and the fans, with occasional lapses, is generally good.

That kind of healthy competitiveness is best fed by a high quality of performance. We, in Swaziland, are no exception to the universal sentiment that we have a particular football team, and at a national level, Sihlangu, that we support and we want to win! That is at the pinnacle. National honours in sport contribute significantly to national pride.

We aspire to participate, or be supporters, in a football regime at the highest standard. And what is the best technique for producing that standard? You get soccer players involved at grass roots level, generally starting at a reasonably young age when the bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments are at their strongest and most durable. You feed the young participants on coaching and competition, with all its pressures and rewards. Competitiveness is innate in most human beings. Giving it the scope and regular activity is how the standard is ratcheted up and excellence achieved.

The term “grass roots” is, of course, highly relevant when we consider the nature of today’s event. That is what Shukuma is all about. And while today is primarily about the launch of the Shukuma Football Menu, the programme is about many sports and about everyone in each community. It is about activity, whether competitive or not. In its essence it encourages a healthy life style, provides a foundation for a professional career in sport and raises the standard of individual performance in various sports.

Shukuma Swaziland is the flagship programme of our National Sports and Recreation Council. Promoting participation in sport and other forms of physical activity is not only creating fun but also encouraging and assisting the members of every one of our 55 tinkhundla into vigorous and healthy cardio-vascular activity, with the added spin-off of rewarding social interaction. Remember the old saying – those, who play together, stay together.  Furthermore, the Shukuma programme is a platform for sports associations and recreation bodies to introduce their sports at the various tinkhundla centres.

Guided by the National Sports and Recreational Policy and our national development goals, the Council is clearly taking the programme seriously. There are now sports committees in every inkhundla and, of those, 22 have been given seed equipment in the 2015/16 financial year. The remaining 33 tinkhundla will receive their equipment in the current financial year. That target must be met. Shukuma outreach events are being held in tinkhundla. Only 10 have been held so far but when one reads of the diversity of activities in these events – athletics, skipping, netball, aerobics and a package of fun games – we can only hope that the available resources will permit the rolling out of these visits to all tinkhundla, and on a regular basis.

But let us be absolutely clear. The availability of equipment is the icing on the cake. While waiting for equipment to arrive, those tinkhundla without it should continue with the many forms of athletic activity that are wholesome and enjoyable, and that do not need a great deal of equipment. How many sporting champions grew up playing football with piled up sweaters for goalposts or old wooden posts for baseball? Competitive running events around a flat area require no equipment in all until the later stages. That is the challenge I put down for the sports committees, in charge at inkhundla level, to take up and demonstrate their resourcefulness. Let us hear about what they are achieving. Get those achievements publicized through the media for others to contemplate, then emulate!

Allow me now to conclude with special messages that relate specifically to today’s event and the Shukuma football initiative. The tinkhundla will be the nurturing grounds that will feed into mainstream football and be a showcase for talent identification. The National Sports and Recreational Council has allocated E50,000 to each region for football activities and a tournament. I take this opportunity to ask the private sector to consider supporting this important initiative. At the same time, we need to see the requisite level of commitment by sports committees and community members alike. Their interest and achievements will register on the corporate social responsibility antennae of our business sector enterprises. They will observe the beneficial impact of the Shukuma programme, not only in sporting ways but in the boost to the nation’s health, both physical and mental. This, I hope, will then convince them of the value of the programme and the need for additional resources.

I conclude by thanking the Sports Council for the overall Shukuma programme and have great pleasure, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, of declaring the Shukuma Football Menu duly launched.

Thank you.