The Minister of State for Sports, Hon. Peter Ogwang, has been asked to present a statement to Parliament on the state of affairs at the Uganda Netball Federation, following the cancellation of its certificate by the National Council of Sports.
While chairing the House, Speaker Anita Among, raised concern on weekend reports indicating that the country’s netball team, the She Cranes, will not participate in the upcoming 2023 national championship in Botswana.
“Considering the fact that netball is one of our most successful sporting disciplines and that it is played by women, Vice President, you need to see what to do for our girls,” Among said on Tuesday 28 November 2023.
She directed the Sports Minister to present the statement to Parliament by Wednesday.
Hon. Solomon Silwany (NRM, Bukooli County Central) cited statements on the floor of the House by the State Minister for Sports and the State Minister for Finance Hon. Henry Musasizi, that sports activities would be supported.
“Hon. Peter Ogwang gave a commitment to this House that such an incident will not happen again. The Minister for Finance also stood here and said the money for sports will be provided but this has not been done. Let us put them to task to give us answers,” Silwany said.
The Speaker added that the course of events at the Uganda National Netball Federation are attributed to matters administration and rather not financing.
“The issue of She Cranes is beyond financial matters, it is a corporate governance issue. The Minister for Sports needs to follow-up the cancellation of the certificate of the Federation and report to the House. We appropriated the money and they have it,” Among said.
The Vice President, Jessica Alupo, said the certificate of the netball federation was cancelled due to accountability gaps.
She clarified that She Cranes will not participate at the Botswana games because other participating teams pulled out of the tournament, which prompted the World Netball Federation to deem it unfit for remaining teams to participate.
“But the She Cranes will play two international matches in London and Wales in January. The operations of the She Cranes have not been hampered in any way,” Alupo added.
She also said the matter of the Uganda National Netball Federation is under discussion with the World Netball Federation, National Council of Sports and Ministry of Education and Sports, to reinstate its certificate.
The Speaker tasked the State Minister for Sports to present a report on the matter that will guide the decision of Parliament, and also tasked the Parliamentary Accounts Committee to present a report on its investigation into Uganda National Netball Federation.
