August 18, 2013 Prince MumbaOBSERVATION with CHAPADONGO LUNGU WHILE the likes of Usain Bolt, Mohammed Farah, Tirunesh Dibaba and many others are flourishing at the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Championships in Russia, Zambia’s representatives have fallen off like leaves on a windy winter day. Quite frankly, I did not expect anything from the three envoys and it may be considered irrational to draw comparisons between Bolt and Prince Mumba, for instance. It can be argued that Bolt is superhuman, and scientists calculated that his speed is faster than a middle-aged cheetah. At 9.58 seconds in 100m, Bolt runs faster than 10m per second! Little wonder he holds both Olympics and world titles in the two sprints – 100m and 200m. Bring in Farah, and our athletes fade into obscurity. But the question still begs: why have our athletes performed so dismally? Remember, this is not a totally uncharted territory for Zambia; our flag has been hoisted before. Samuel Matete stood on the podium as a champion! So, what has gone wrong? Runner Jordan Chipangama wraps it up thus: “I can say with certainty that ZAA [Zambia Athletics Association] is done. It’s been over 24 hours since I arrived in Moscow. I have not met any of the two representatives [president Elias Mpondela and Mung’ambata), Prince has to act as a leader. On top of that, we seem to be looking like farmers. “We have no uniform. A South African high school I went to is a million times better organised than this so-called Zambia…..Just to give you a clear picture, I have declared a Nike running flats, yellow in colour, grey Adidas shorts, red and highly-faded vest …I will be introduced as Zambia. I feel insulted. “I’m representing the country at the World Championship, not a local fun run. I have worked so hard to look this cheap. Thank you Zambia, I am finally done with you….” Of course the ZAA executive dismissed Chipangama’s assertions which it said were founded on wrong information. But I believe the young man’s sentiments say it all. That is exactly why Zambia cannot perform at a high level. And that is why Sports Minister Chishimba Kambwili should not defend anyone over this poor performance. The Kambwili I have come to know does not defend poor performance, whether there is a government sports policy or not. Surely, these basic omissions by some of our administrators do not need a sports policy. Do you need a sports policy not to leave a coach behind? Yes, Kambwili has said he will wait for details on the ‘substituted’ coach but I think ZAA’s failures should not be masked in lack of a sports policy. Kambwili, a proven achiever by the way, should not shoulder ZAA’s failures; they may weigh him down. I am sure he has liaised with his deputy Steven Masumba, who is breathing fire over ZAA’s failure to travel with a coach. Masumba is justified. Critically looked at, I would rather go with Mwamba Kalenga’s view, though quite radical. Kalenga, the National Sports Council of Zambia vice-chairperson, says Mpondela should give others a chance to run ZAA. Why not? After all, this is just voluntarism. Why should a young man like Chipangama dress you down yet you still stick to a position you have held for almost two decades? That means Mpondela became ZAA president when George Bush Senior was President of America; long before Bill Clinton and George W Bush ascended to the throne and when Barrack Obama was probably a law student at Harvard University! Textbook stuff, isn’t it? Maybe, that’s the way we get by.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 09:46:06 +0000
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