RUGBY POLITICAL DISCOURSE PRT III By SINX What is obvious right now is that the word “POLITICAL” will soon have to be dropped from the title of this article and hopefully it will not have to be used again since it is hoped that Zambian Rugby will never be political again. So the elections are over and we have a new executive in place, they say everything happens for a reason and there is a season for everything under the sun. It can’t go without saying that the past Executive did their part and a lot is to be learnt from their collective experience. The Saturday, 15 November election resulted in Gen Sinkamba being voted as the ZAMBIA RUGBY UNION (ZRU) President, Mr John Chibuye as Vice President,Col Chitambo as General Secretary,Mr Paul Sichula as Treasurer and as Committee Members,Mr James Banda ,Col Vincent Liato and Mr Enock Shikabeta. I have no idea about the current state of ZRU ie accounting books, secretariat,administrative structure etc at the moment given the way the ZRU was dissolved following the multiple resignations. What gives confidence however is that the Vice President was the caretaker Chairman, the Secretary General was in the previous committee and the President has been there before in the same capacity. The SG will provide continuity so that at least the good deeds and efforts put up by the last Executive do not go down the drain. There are lessons to be learnt from the last episode and a strong “UNITY OF PURPOSE” is required in bringing back the glory days. The SG has a big job to perform and so do all the members of the executive. One of the biggest lessons is to have a listening ear and also to be tolerant to diverse ideas. The executive has to know that there are so many stakeholders in the game and that we are all expectant of them to deliver on their promises to improve the game which we so desperately love. To the various Club Executives,the success of the ZRU is also in your hands and the ZRU will have to depend on your support to make things happen…..Success is not a quick fix and it is never an overnight achievement……it is a journey and be guaranteed that the journey will not be easy, it will be tough ,it will have disagreements but with “UNITY OF PURPOSE” the sport shall prevail. The other candidates did not lose the election, there were no winners and there were no losers. To borrow the words of MR KAIKO LUNGU,the winner was rugby. One cannot ignore Mr Ackim Mwales outlining his vision for the future of Zambian Rugby and his emphasis on the Office of the Secretary General,to quote him …………… “BEING the “engine” of the Zambia Rugby Union (ZRU) operating “machinery”, the Secretariat needs to be professionally structured for it to be able to discharge its functions efficiently and diligently” and “The General Secretary should be the “Chief Executive Officer” of the Union and custodian of the ZRU Constitution. In addition, he is the person responsible for all communication between the Union, affiliates NSCZ, IRB and the general rugby fraternity in Zambia and internationally”…………Mr Ackim Mwale floated so many worthwhile ideas and it would do the ZRU executive well if they could engage him and work with him and pool ideas for the betterment of the game even engage him in the organization of CASTLE 7s. So much lies on the shoulders of the SG and the various secretaries of the Clubs, they should ensure that they communicate, communicate, communicate………once this communication between the UNION and CLUBS is done the various Secretaries of the CLUBS should communicate, communicate, communicate with their members and the players …..this communication is of course on a need to know basis because not all information is for every DICK,TOM and HARRY. It is also my prayer that we exhibit civility and avoid those nasty and rude e-mails which have become part of the official communication tradition in the past. Let the respective Club Executive members take up the job of writing officially when complaints are made for ie.poor officiating, poor hosting etiquette etc because the e-mails seem to be too personal. Most of the frustration comes from a lack of information and then the social media goes alive with insults and finger pointing .ie when you know that financing for players allowances is tough, communicate to the players in good time and this will reduce bad publicity. I have always wondered what it takes to have the league results updated on the rugby pages and why the log standings should be some tough assignment and why we cannot get our agenda on the local newspapers. It is my hope that this will be a thing of the past. We congratulate the new Executive and encourage them to open their doors for new ideas and also encourage all the Clubs to give them support. We have turned a new page and we are alive to the fact that it will not be an easy road but still our hope is that the Japanese concept of “KAIZEN - CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT” shall take root in Zambian Rugby and hope to see some international rugby at home soon.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 19:34:16 +0000
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