Govt takes over running of KIS
The Ministry of Sports and Culture has directed that Malawi National Sports Council (MNSC) cease to manage Kamuzu Institute of Sports (KIS) forthwith, Nation on Sunday can reveal.
Minister of Sports and Culture Grace Chiumia confirmed the news when asked by Nation on Sunday about the future on Thursday that the facility will from September 1 2015 be managed by the Sports Ministry.
“There are a number of reasons we decided to take over the management of the facility. One of them is that KIS is in a depilated state despite making money through hiring of the hall for weddings and church ceremonies,” said Chiumia.
“Without demeaning the office of Sports Council, we feel they failed to manage the facility and leaving it into their management will mean turning it into a ruin. This is despite that the council gets financial allocations from our ministry for upgrading,” added Chiumia.
MNSC executive director, George Jana, confirmed the development.
“It is true we have been told to stop managing the facility, but I don’t know the reasons. The ministry is better placed to tell you their reasons. I will not comment any further on the issue,” said Jana.
Council regional sports officer for the Centre, Isaac Phiri confirmed being given notice to stop managing the facility from today August 30.
“All I can say is that we have been stripped of management of KIS. Now, we have relocated our offices to Mchesi behind the filling station,” said Phiri.
Meanwhile, Chiumia said her ministry will refurbish the facility to a venue of excellence for all sporting activities.
“Firstly, we will construct the fence around the facility. We are partnering the Ministry of Labour, Youth and Manpower Development and companies such as TNM so that the facility can not only be used for sports activities, but also for youth development.
“We had these plans before my youth development department was moved to Ministry of Labour,” said Chiumia.
She added that apart from ensuring that indoor sports disciplines courts are in good condition, they will also reconstruct the football pitch and the stands for the facility to Super League matches.
“For youth development, we plan to have a library at the facility so that the youth in surrounding communities can use it to advance their knowledge,” she said. n
