Africa Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region Five president Vetumbuavi Veii has slammed Malawi and other African countries for shunning the All Africa Games to be hosted by Congo Brazzaville this September.
Veii said this in his speech marking the induction of Malawi sports sector into the Podium Performance Programme at the College of Medicine (CoM) Sports Complex High Performance Centre (HPC), Blantyre on Wednesday.
“I was disappointed to hear that Malawi is not going to participate, but Malawi was in Scotland for Commonwealth Games,” he said.
“As Africans we have to change the way we think; charity begins at home. Next time you will be on the plane going to Brazil for 2016 Olympic Games, yet you cannot go to an African competition. Remember that first and foremost you are Africans.”
The Ministry of Sports and Youth Development quietly passed word that the country will not be represented at the event. Failure to pay affiliation fees mean that Malawi will, as was the case at 2011 games held in Mozambique, be barred from attending.
But MNCS chairperson James Chuma and the council’s executive secretary George Jana did not immediately react to the AUSC’s chief’s remarks.
Sports Ministry’s sports director Jameson Ndalama, who has been elusive on the matter, blamed the failed trip to Congo on lack of collective planning by stakeholders.
Malawi was also barred from the 10th edition of the gamed held in Mozambique in 2011 over accumulated fees of K27 million ($60 000).
