WHILE we may not be fully briefed about the goings-on at Zimbabwe Cricket, as far as their tiff with the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) is concerned, it is disturbing to hear that the quarrel can end up costing our country’s cricket not only financial support, but suspension from international cricket.
NewsDay Comment
Our understanding of the SRC is that its purpose is to “regulate and generally promote the development of sport and recreation in the country” and fundamentally “create an enabling environment for the delivery of quality sport and recreation of programmes that enhance participation by all”.
It then boggles us when this commission decides, or is made, to entangle itself in flimsy matters that risk our country being put on the spot.
The SRC should seriously heed the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s warning that government interference of whatever nature into the affairs of the country’s cricket governing body, the ZC, may have damaging effects to the game.
We hope this latest twist at ZC will not degenerate into the chaos of yesteryears. Political interference in the early 2000s resulted in the game being plunged into such serious chaos that in 2004 players revolted and the country was banned for five years from international cricket.
Our cricket has had a gravely troubled past of mismanagement and power broking that saw many of our talented players crossing oceans, seeking better environments as the ZC sank under a heavy debt burden that saw the ICC chipping in last June with a financial bailout after the local cricket board failed to pay players and staff outstanding remunerations.
Just as the country was beginning to claw back into the game we hear of these new rumblings. We must unreservedly point out that we least expected the SRC to be the source of ZC’s latest troubles given their mandate of promoting the development of sport in the country.
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And this coming at a time when the country is busy trying to be accepted back into the community of nations is totally unacceptable and could scuttle all gains made so far.
Government should try by all means possible not be tempted to interfere in sport in such a manner that may result in bringing any game into disrepute.
An audit of ZC was carried out, but its findings were kept under wraps just like many others in the past, resulting in the game plunging into chaos.
The present government should work hard to be more transparent than the previous regime led by former President Robert Mugabe, which threw caution to the wind at every turn, and ended up almost completely destroying the game.
Why is the SRC demanding another audit when the contents and reasons for disregarding the last audit have not been made public? Is this also not a waste of precious money, which we, as a nation, can ill-afford at the moment?
We beseech the government to assist, not only Zimbabwe Cricket turn the page, but all sporting disciplines in the country. And these shenanigans being brewed by the SRC at ZC are not helpful at all. They will only serve to destroy sport and recreation in this country.
