Raminai: Invest in sports

By PATRICIA KEAMO
SPORTS Ministers Wesley Raminai has called on the Government to invest more in sports following last week’s launching of a national sports policy for 2020-2050.
He said the policy took almost four years to be completed with consultation from national federations and other relevant authorities, but it would provide the framework for change.
“The new policy is quite ambitious, but we have to set higher goals and work hard to achieve them,” Raminai said.
“Papua New Guinea is a big national powerhouse compared with other smaller Pacific Island nations and yet we struggle on the global stage to win medals.
“Why is that?
“If they can do it, we can too.
“We need to invest more in our kids and youths in schools and grassroots sports programmes.
“I’m calling on the prime minister and the National Planning and Monitoring Department to give money to sports.
“When we hosted big events like the 2015 Pacific Games, we spent millions.
“So why can’t we continue investing in sports?
“We are asking for maybe K20-K30 million to be invested every year.
“If we do that and invest in sports, then we’ll reap the rewards.
“With this new policy, we want to bring back the schools competitions that used to be played in the early 1960s and 1970s that died out in the 1990s.”
Raminai said the policy would require input from all sectors to implement it for the evolution of sports in the next 30 years.
When approving the policy in July, the National Executive Council directed the Department of Justice and Attorney General as well as the Constitutional Law Reform Committee to review the PNG Sports Foundation Act (2006).
The Sports Ministry was directed to ensure national federations receive annual funding to sustain their programmes while the PNG Games were captured in a separate budget. Schools will be used as a development hub to create pathways to national sports programmes.