Kasaila hopes sports meet will be intact

Former Minister of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development Francis Kasaila says he is hopeful his successor Grace Chiumia will meet with sports associations to brainstorm on sports development.

Kasaila, who was scheduled to meet the sports disciplines in Blantyre on November 17, expressed the optimism yesterday after being named Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism in President Peter Mutharika’s Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday.

It has been years since a minister had a meeting with associations to evaluate and plan for sports development.

Recently, another former Sports Minister Henry Mussa planned to call for a similar meeting, but he left for the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism before it was held.

“The forthcoming meeting is very important to the development of sports in the country and I hope the new Sports Minister will carry on with it. I believe what will change are only the dates of the gathering,” he said.

When asked about her reaction yesterday, Chiumia, who has made a return to the sports ministry, said it is too early to comment.

“I will be able to comment after the actual handovers because I am yet to be briefed as regards to the meeting,” she said.

However, Chiumia said she is happy to be back as Sports Minister and she thanked the President for having trust in her.

The ministry’s spokesperson Christina Mkutumula on Wednesday said in an interview that it is a policy that the minister, through Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS), should be meeting all sports associations at least once a year to come up with suggestions for addressing challenges facing the sports sector.

“It is only unfortunate that resources and time sometimes do not permit us to do so,” she said.