South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The National Minister of Finance and Planning, Marial Dongrin Ater, proposed on Wednesday for the establishment of a National Sports Development Fund to help pool resources for sport development.
“I propose the establishment of a National Sports Development Fund, tasked with pooling resources from various stakeholders, including corporate sponsorships, diaspora contributions and international development grants,” said Ater during the opening of the three-day conference on sport financing in Juba.
Ater said the government has a responsibility to ensure that girls and young women are equally empowered to participate and excel in sports, adding that programs targeting grassroots participation should be scaled up with a focus on schools as incubators of talent.
He said that the ministry of finance and planning is committed to exploring the provision of targeted tax incentives and other physical interventions to encourage domestic and foreign direct investment in the sport sector.
Ater added that South Sudan has tremendous potential not only in basketball but also in football and athletics.
He also emphasized the importance of the fund in a transparent manner to support development of sport infrastructure projects.
Ater also noted that experiences around the world show that the aggregate impact of investments in sport is achieved in short-term, adding that opportunities must be available for all South Sudanese, regardless of gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status.
“Investing in sports is not an isolated endeavor that is pursued only when all needs and priorities are fully catered for. Our agile, lean and determined young men and women can shine on tracks and fields worldwide if given the right support,” he said.
