Despite the political will to promote sports across different disciplines, Rwandan athletes continue to perform dismally in different international competitions, and this has been going on for decades. During an interaction with young Rwandans during the celebration of the 10-year anniversary of YouthConnekt on Wednesday, President Paul Kagame touched on different malpractices in the administration of sports that have dogged the sector for a long time. Among these malpractices, include mismanagement of resources, where he gave an example of federation officials who take athletes for international competitions and put them on the bus with the officials traveling first class by plane, which results in dismal performance. He also talked of officials who designate family members and their friends as part of the official delegation and fly with them first class, at the expense of the athletes. Other malpractices, which he said are most prevalent in football is the diversion of funds, which should be injected in the welfare of players to be able to ably compete with their opponents, into witchcraft. This mismanagement of resources has been prevalent for many years, which has undermined the sports sector despite the genuine effort that the national leadership has demonstrated to see our athletes succeed on the international arena, including investing in world-class infrastructure, among others. During his call to athletes, the President urged them to not take mediocrity from their federations and speak out on these malpractices whenever they see them and indeed, it will take them to reject such tendencies that the officials will finally come to their senses and do what will promote sport in the country. This country is where it is today because of her tough stance on accountability. Unfortunately, this very virtue has been lacking in the sports industry and the results are clear for all to see. It is therefore the right time for athletes to heed the President’s call and speak out on these ills whenever they encounter them to make the federations accountable; at least now that they have the backing of the leadership. Without accountability, all the efforts by the government will go to waste and this should not be accepted by everyone concerned, starting with the athletes. Sport should cease to be the haven for greedy officials who look at enriching themselves to the detriment of national glory.
