MmegiSport: Where is AUSC Region V in terms of sport development?
Mutoya: Our business is to drive the sport development agenda, in line with the African Union blueprint agenda 2063, which talks about the Africa we want. There are issues around integration, so that we leave no one behind, people with disability, women and other vulnerable communities. But also there is an issue of prosperity where we need to drive the economy through sport, in other words industrialising and monetising sport. Then of course there is general development which is infrastructural, performance, and capacitating our coaches and other personnel in sport. Our mandate is broad. When we talk about sport for development, it speaks about getting people physically active. If we create an active citizenry they become a productive citizenry, which feeds into the prosperity of Africa. This body (then Supreme Council for Sports in Africa), at the time was formed to use sport to drive the emancipation agenda at a time when most of Africa was under colonialism. In 2001, we then saw a shift from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), our governments realised that we had attained our political freedom and it was time to address the economic freedom of Africa. We then saw the formation of the African Union, moving away from the OAU. Our governments, meeting in Libya felt that sport needs to revitalise and harmonise into the AU structures. In the same year, the SADC Heads of State meeting in Blantyre came up with a protocol where they wanted the harmonisation of sport polices and organising tournaments periodically, which is why you now see the Region V Games. They talked about establishing academies, centres of excellence, and industries to manufacture sport goods and services. That was like a marching order for what Region V stands for today. With the marching orders that we received, we then saw the birth of the Region V Games, at the time they were called the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa Zone VI Games. The inaugural games were held in Maputo in 2004. The games have seen the participation of the likes of Christian Mboma, Collins Mbesuma, Patson Daka, Naomi Ruele, and Nijel Amos.
