Themba Gorimbo the South African based mixed martial artist was crowned the 2019 sportsperson of the year at a colourful ceremony held in Harare on 29 January 2020 while Donata Katai the young swimming sensation walked away as the Junior Sportsperson of the year. The awards are held every year to recognize and honour outstanding performance by athletes and officials.
Speaking at the glamorous pinnacle sporting awards held in the capital recently the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Hon. Dr Kirsty Coventry said she had given the SRC Board the mandate to organize the Awards and was happy with what she saw.
“I gave the mandate to organize the Awards to the SRC and I had very high expectations, and I had very high expectations and I think they have exceeded my expectations.
“I have heard only good things from the athletes and the sports network, as an athlete I am always analyzing things and I think there are a few things which we must improve on” said Coventry.
Also speaking at the ceremony the SRC Board Chairman Gerald Mlotshwa emphasized the need for National Sport Associations to embrace ethical business practices if sport is to be improved in this country.
“Sport in this country should be run on commercial lines in order that it can contribute to the development of the economy. Critical to this is ensuring that sport is run by efficient, transparent and accountable national sport associations. Regrettably, and at the present, this is not the case in several instances.
“Incompetence and downright corruption and other criminal activity is rampant in the administration of some of our key sporting disciplines” Mlotshwa said.
SRC Board Chairman also urged the National Sport Associations to make sport a business and that his Board was going to work round the clock to foster commercially acceptable levels of governance within the Associations so that they do not remain a drain to the fiscus.
The Sportsperson of the year Themba Gorimbo walked away $200 000 richer courtesy of Netone while Donata Katai got $50 000.
