Youth and Sports Ministry gets K5.9 billion in 2015/16 budget

rYouth and Sports Ministry has been allocated K5.9 billion in the 2015/16 budget.
The K5 billion is meant for construction of Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe and a youth centre in Mzuzu.
This effectively means that the ministry will be left with K900 million for its operations, including allocations to sports disciplines.

Speaking when he presented the budget in Parliament on Friday, Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe said: “The budgetary allocation made to the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports will be increased sustainably from K680 million in [fiscal year] 2014/15 to K5.9 billion in 2015/16.
“This significant increase is due to Chinese funding of K5.0 billion for the construction of the National Stadium in Lilongwe, as well as initial Government funding for the construction of the youth centre in Mzuzu.”
Reacting to the development, Youth and Sports Minister Grace Chiumia said her ministry requested more than what it has been allocated, “but all the same we appreciate considering the financial constraints that government is facing.
“I am excited because most of it is going towards infrastructure development.”
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) which gets the biggest chunk in terms of allocation to various sports disciplines, said it expects an increased funding.
“It is our expectation that our allocation will also increase significantly bearing in mind that we have been underfunded for a long time,” said FAM president Walter Nyamilandu.
He said FAM needs increased funding to enable the Flames participate in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations as well as 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

“At the moment, we have been financing operations of the national team using Fifa bonus funds and sponsorship from Carlsberg Malawi Limited, but it is way not enough.
“The K10 million-subvention is a drop in the ocean when you consider the level of activities and matches we undertake. It is only sufficient for two or three matches. So, something drastic has to be done to improve funding situation,” said Nyamilandu whose association has been getting K70 million for the past two years against a proposed budget of over K300 million.
Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) general secretary Carol Bapu also said they expect an increased allocation in the next fiscal year. For the past two years, NAM was allocated K30 million.
“We expect the increase in the budget to translate in allocations to sports disciplines,” she said.