Maria Chiguvari
Deputy Minister of Sports, Recreation, Arts, and Culture, Emily Jesaya has hailed the TinMac Foundation Tournament for contributing to the fight against drugs and substance abuse.
Launched on Saturday at Chisangano School in Hwedza, the tournament will include football, netball, cycling, pool, athletics, tug-of-war, and other traditional games like nhodo, hwishu, and raka-raka.
Tinmac Foundation sports tournament to be held in Hwedza in the next three months, will include a cash of US$10 000.
Deputy Minister of Sports Emily Jesaya who was the guest of honour was grateful for the efforts put in by Machakaire to spearhead government initiatives.
“We thank you for your inclusivity. Both men’s and women’s games are accommodated here.
“These sports are important to the government as they help people with mental wellness.
“We are fighting drug and substance abuse and this program is spearheading that initiative.
“We don’t want to see a scenario where communities are destroyed due to drug abuse.
“The government is also spearheading grassroots sports development where it aims at tapping talent from all areas in the country and this is exactly what honourable Machakaire is doing,” she said.
Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training, Tino Machahaire said the initiative was to fight drug abuse among the youths.
“We don’t want our people to just play football and come out with nothing. It’s high time we leave the habit of just giving playing kits to our teams.
“There is a high risk as players can get injured from these games so we want people to have tangible results at the end.
“We want our people to earn a living as we seek to create a value chain for our families.
“We no longer want our players to be given just USD$50. We need to upgrade and let people know that we are not joking here at Wedza.
“The least money we are going to start with is USD$10 000. We are also going to bring in professional scouts who will help identify talent from this place and send them to professional leagues.
“We want to see some of our children playing in national teams.
“But let it be known that we don’t condone cheating and corruption from the leadership to the players.
“Let’s help all do that. It will pain me to see this money misused as its hard-earned money.
“Please let’s champion and nurture the talent we have here.
“We don’t want our youths to lie idle and get lazy. All these initiatives are set to make sure that we have fought against drug abuse and all other social ills.”
Minister Machakaire also donated furniture at St Mary’s Makanda Primary School on the same day.
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