Swiss Consul General meets with Sports Minister

Lack of facilities and skills has hindered the advancement of all kinds of sporting activity in the country, the Minister of Gender, Youth, Sports and Recreation Mrs. Mathabiso Lepono has said. 

Briefing the Consul General of Switzerland to Lesotho, Mr. Jurg Lippuner during a courtesy call on the Minister on January 28, Mrs. Lepono singled out the major problems as being infrastructural, citing the kinds of sports grounds generally available in the country. Another challenge facing the Ministry was changing people's attitude to sports, showing how interest in sports needs to be uplifted throughout the country.

Priorities included the upgrading of the Setsoto Stadium, the country's sole national stadium to  international standards.

"As South Africa bids to host the 2010 World Cup, we wish some of the games could be played in our
country, but we lack the appropriate facilities" the Minister said.

Even though a new sports facility has just been opened, it is owned solely by the Central Bank, while the Bambatha Ts'ita Sports Arena is also not of international standards. However the Minister was confident about progress being made on the High Altitude Training Project, currently in the second phase of development at the Mohale Dam. The first phase entailed the building of chalets for visitors and a tourist attraction island, she said.

The Ministry also has plans to bring together all street kids encouraging them to take part in the different  sporting activities, to draw tem away from crime and eventually to re-unite them with their families, Mrs. Lepono said.

28 January 2004