Mozambique: Sports Awards – Athletes call for president’s intervention to settle debt

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Mozambique: Sports Awards – Athletes call for president’s intervention to settle debt

12:29 CAT | 04 Apr 2024

File photo: O Pais

Athletes from various sports disciplines seeking the Mozambican president’s intervention to secure payment of prize money for winning medals in international competitions went to the State Secretariat for Sports yesterday to get updates on the progress of the process.

This issue has been ongoing for seven years, with still no solution in sight. At the last meeting in February, the State Secretariat for Sports committed to starting payment of the 16 million meticais shortfall by the end of last month, but this promise went unfulfilled, not for the first time.

In this context, the athletes once again sought the State Secretariat for Sports’ explanation for the non-compliance.

During the meeting, the athletes learned that the rules of engagement had changed, with the State Secretariat for Sports now engaging with various national federations on the issue rather than dealing directly with the athletes, as had previously been the case.

“After several attempts and failures in what we agreed on regarding the communication with the State Secretariat for Sports about the progress of the process, we tried to contact the Secretariat through two individuals, with whom we were given the freedom to interact. Strangely, there was a change in the process, as we were informed that we needed to schedule an appointment, which we did. However, we have not yet received a response to our request, submitted a week ago,” athletes’ representative Osvaldo Machava explained.

According to Machava, this suggests that the State Secretariat for Sports is not taking any action to solve the athletes’ problem. “It’s not just about communication through the federations, it’s about the process itself. All this time we have been following up on the issue, and we expected a bit more than what we agreed on to see where the process stands. The national Director of High-Performance Sports could not give us an accurate update on the process. This suggests to us that no action is being taken in that direction,” Machava noted.

The State Secretariat for Sports says the process is ongoing. In his explanation, Francisco da Conceição stated that the process was underway, as he had mentioned in previous meetings with the athletes. The official’s explanation did not however convince the athletes.

Source: O Pais