Leemisa Thuseho
THE Minister of Gender, Youth, Sport and Recreation Likeleli Tampane has urge officials in her ministry to put their political persuasions aside and serve the nation.
Tampane said this at her first meeting with staff at Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena, Maseru on Wednesday. She was appointed last month. She was introduced to the staff along with her deputy, Phutuhelo Mafereka,.
Tampane implored the staff to unite as this would help them succeed in their endeavours.
“If you are a civil servant, do what a civil servant is expected to do,” Tampane said.
“You will be here for a long time but the political leadership of the ministry will keep on changing whenever there is a new government.
“Today I am the minister and tomorrow there will be someone else.”
She said she would not take lightly any errant behaviour particularly by staff who ran their personal errands during office hours.
She also expressed concern over the ministry’s poor transport management.
“I cannot understand why the ministry is spending a lot of money on transport even in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic where there are no activities in the districts.
“We will come up with a new formula to control the use of vehicles and in due course, all the vehicles will be under the supervision of the deputy minister,” Tampane said.
She also warned the ministry’s employees to desist from accepting or demanding bribes in exchange for services.
“During the Covid-19 movement restrictions, we have recorded many violence related cases and that must end.”
To help create employment, she vowed that her ministry would utilise and improve local vocational and youth centres in equipping youths with the necessary skills that will help them create jobs for themselves.
Tampane believes sport is one of the tools that can help in fighting the high youth unemployment rate and contribute to the country’s economy growth. There is therefore, a need to invest in sports.
“We are going to look at ways to improve the lives of our athletes while always ensuring that we increase the number of upgraded playgrounds in our 10 districts…even Setsoto Stadium and Leshoboro Stadium are now in a poor condition and they need to be renovated.”
She said unlike the norm of prioritising soccer only, adequate attention would be given to all sporting codes.
Now that the African Union Sport Council Region 5 games are hanging in the balance due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Tampane advised athletes to continue training until it is safe to hold the games.
