Agnes Tjongarero’s take on the sports industry

Minister stresses passion and planning

Long serving servant of sports, the current 79-year old minister of sports, Agnes Tjongarero stresses that there is more to achieve in the fraternity, only if those involved inject urgency to execute their tasks.

Limba Mupetami

Windhoek

Agnes Tjongarero is the second female in the history of Namibian sports to occupy the sports minister post after Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana (1991 to 1996).

The minister narrated the process and status regarding the current projects she is working on, the lack of coaches in the various regions, the lack of proper planning by administrators and the legacy which she wants to one day leave behind amongst other things.

Many are not aware, but Tjongarero trained as a nurse, midwife, nursing manager and nursing educator between 1962 and 1975 and then worked as a lecturer at a nursing college until 1992.

Between 1993 and 1997 she became the president of the All Namibia Netball Association and vice chairperson of the Namibia Sports Commission between 2006 and 2009. She was also the president of the Namibia National Olympic Committee, having taken on that role in 1997. She became the deputy minister of sports in 2015 after which she was promoted to her current role in 2020. Tjongarero, therefore comes with vast knowledge and experience, having served the industry actively in various sport administration roles.

But despite having worked in different areas, and picking up notable experience, the minister is at times being ridiculed on social media for her age with some asking for a younger minister to take over. Bringing in the question of whether the adage of age only being a number comes into play when one is younger.

The minister is, however, not fazed by this talk and narrated her journey first speaking about how she was one of the first black athletes who played tennis at a time when the community only focused on netball and football.

“Sport was something I always loved. I was not very good in athletics and dropped it to focus on tennis. I was really good,’’ she said.

She brings us back to some of the projects she is currently focusing on – stating that Covid-19 hampered that and now the focus is more planning. ‘‘There is a project hanging for seven years and that is the amendment of the Sports Act. It’s old and outdated. I have been trying my level best to get it amended. That is the biggest frustration I have. Recently, I was told that it is with the office of the justice ministry.

‘’‘I don’t want to push a lot as you get informed that you are interfering with the work of the administrators. But I can say that there is no proper sports policy, act, or rules and regulations – we are working with outdated rules from yesteryear.

After many various meetings with different sports bodies over the years, we are still struggling to get policies and rules and regulations revamped. This has also revealed how some employees only apply to get a job, but not out of love or passion for what they do.’’ With these statements she added that the focus should also be in training coaches in regions to uplift communities.

The minister also touched on gender stereotypes in sports. ‘‘The best thing to do is to be knowledgeable about your area of expertise. Let’s do all we can do to know a thing or two about different sports codes or subjects – that is when our male counterparts learn to respect us.’’

Influence on sports budget

Namibian Sun sports desk also asked the minister how far her reach goes in influencing the sports budget allocation. She said that she can only try her best to get a much needed injection, however, admitting that not prioritizing an increase leads to a drop in the performance of athletes.

‘‘You don’t go and get a medal just like that. It takes many years to build an athlete to a high performance level. We just returned from the Commonwealth Games – in 2024 the Commonwealth Games will take place in Paris- France, it is now time for us to build.

‘‘But to build a top athlete, we must have funding. It’s a pity that when athletes are about to travel to major competitions, that is the only time we scrounge around for money. You prepare an athlete to qualify, after that they need to prepare,’’ Tjongarero emphasized.

This week she added will be quiet, as she will sit down with various sports officials to get the planning for various competitions in motion. ‘‘Right now we have the likes of Paralympic athlete Ananias Shikongo, marathon runner Helalia Johannes performing very well, but they are getting old for the track – now we need to ask the question of who is coming next after these senior athletes. Who are these athletes, where are their portfolios, are we able to give them scholarships – all these are things we need to know now and plan for, not plan in 2024.’’

Memorandum of Corporation (MoC) with Japan

In addition, asked if the MoC signed with Japan in the Field of Sports (October 2020), might contribute to assisting Namibian athletes, Tjongarero explained that we need to have plans before approaching the other party, only then can the assistance come to play.

She further stressed that the right people should be elected on boards, in order to avoid having people who act as obstacles. ‘‘Our downfall is not the athletes – it’s the leadership of federations – she made a reference to a local swimmer who was erroneously not entered into a certain category at the Commonwealth Games. Leaders cannot make mistakes like that,’’ she added.

Tjongarero said she can dance happily as she has empowered a lot of people over the years. ‘‘I groomed many people, I have done my part.’’

She wants to be remembered for her constant hammering of sports officials, ‘‘they will thank me for my consistent pressure to get things done. I want things to be done, I want people to walk and run and not always crawl.

In conclusion she said that she enjoys all kind of sports when she is not spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren, her former colleagues in the nursing fraternity and her church group. ‘‘I have supportive family and friends and these are things which I give my attention to when I’m not watching sports,’’ she concluded.

Caption

Pic 1

LET’S APPLY PRESSURE PRESSURE: Minister of sports Agnes Tjongarero.

Pic 2

PICK THE RIGHT PEOPLE: The sports fraternity deserves passionate people to uplift athletes says Agnes Tjongarero, the minister of sports.

Photo: ELIZABETH JOSEPH/FILE