By Ntokozo Magongo
MBABANE – Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Bongani Nzima pleads for support from the Senate Portfolio Committee when tabling the National Sports Bill, National Arts and Culture Bills in Parliament.
He said the bills had the immense potential to transform the lives of our young people, offering them rewarding careers and boosting the country’s economy. This was during the opening of the Senate Portfolio Committee Induction Workshop at Happy Valley Hotel, Ezulwini on Thursday (August 8, 2024).
“The National Sports Bill and National Arts and Culture Bill are crucial to the realisation of this goal and we hope that you, as our Portfolio Committee, will support us when we bring them to Parliament, something we hope will happen in the not so distant future,” he said.
The Minister said based on these past nine months or so that they have worked together, he can boldly say the country had the best Portfolio Committee of all Government Ministries. “Since assuming your positions in this esteemed Committee, you have supported us diligently, while offering us crucial advice as we work together to bring positive change to the lives of our young people and develop the sports and arts sectors in our beloved Kingdom,” he said.
Nzima said they were happy to be joined by the Committee during the launch of the inaugural Tinkhundla National Talent Search Competition.
He added the Ministry is seized with the responsibility of creating a conducive environment for young people to thrive and lead decent and sustainable, high quality lives. He said primarily, they aim to achieve this by developing the sports and arts sectors while also providing our business-inclined youth with tailor made entrepreneurship support.
“In a country where over 70 percent of the population is below the age of 35 years, our work is massive. One of our key goals over the next few years is to streamline youth programming in the country, ensuring that both Government and non-governmental partners work towards shared goals, without duplicating each other’s work.
This will ensure that our limited resources have maximum impact on the lives of our youth. It is also our plan to scale up efforts towards the professionalisation of the sports and arts sectors,” he said.
