By Olimatou Coker
The Ministry of Youth and Sports yesterday signed a D6.5 million project to support community youth and sports infrastructure development.
During the signing ceremony and presentation of cheques, held at the PIA Conference hall in Bakau, a total of 17 sports communities received various sums of money for projects in their respective zones.
The project is entirely a government-funded initiative.
The 17 beneficiary sporting communities come from four regions, KM, WCR, NBR and LRR.
Serekunda East Sports Committee in the KM got D100,000 towards a pavilion project while Serekunda West received half a million, for the provision lights. Brikama received one million dalasis, for the construction of a pavilion, Sinchu Sorie D300,000, and Corp Africa D500,000, for field fencing in Njawara among many other places.
Hon. Bakary Badjie, the Minister of Youth and Sports, said government is making efforts to support sports infrastructure development and support youth initiatives at the grassroots.
He thanked President Barrow for this support saying that this really means a lot to him as far as sporting is concerned.
Mamudou Jawula, Acting Executive Director National Sports Council, said the event marks a very significant milestone in the collective effort to strengthen sports development and empowering the youths through sports infrastructural development. ”Sports infrastructure is more than just a facility and a playing field. It is a foundation for talent development, discipline, teamwork, and a healthy lifestyle,” Jawla said.
He added: “When we invest in infrastructure, we invest in our youth, the future leaders of our country. Well-developed facilities create a safe space for our young people in sports to discover their potentials, build confidence and develop skills that extend beyond the field of play and the impact of this support also reaches our economy. Improved sports infrastructure also creates opportunities for local employment as it stimulates small businesses and encourages community engagement.”
Lamin Jawara, the Chairman of the National Sports Council, said the initiative is first of its kind -where the ministry allocates an amount of D6.5 million to support grassroots sports.
He thanked the minister for his proactive leadership that recognises the need to strengthen the grassroots as a foundation for any structure.
In his vote of thanks, Momodou Yusupha Cham, the president of Serekunda East zone thanked the ministry for the huge support.
He also assured the minister that the funds will be untilised for the right and intended purposes.
