Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) Board Chairperson Jim Kalua has called for the renovation of volleyball and basketball courts at Blantyre Sports Arena (BSA), formerly known as Blantyre Youth Centre.
Kalua made the remarks during his familiarisation tour Tuesday.
Kalua and other board members toured MNCS offices, BSA, National Hockey Stadium and BAT Ground, which is still under construction.
“The volleyball and basketball courts here at Blantyre Sports Arena are very slippery and we need to fix them on recommendations of the board and the Ministry [of Sports],” he said.
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Currently, BSA has cemented volleyball and basketball courts but, at international level, either a synthetic surface or sprung floor are recommended as a safety measure.
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Kalua said they met with Malawi Boxing Association (Maba) officials, who observed that boxers were using worn-out equipment such as gloves and gum shields—which also need to be replaced.
Kalua said he reminded employees at MNCS of the need to uphold ethics when executing their duties.
“Discipline is of paramount importance at every institution and I do not condone nepotism and tribalism, which lead to some people working in fear,” he said.
Meanwhile, one of the three companies hired to construct BAT Stadium, Donekis Construction Managing Director Donnex Taombe, hailed the board’s visit.
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“It has been six months now on site and all I can say is that we are making progress and construction of the stadium will be completed in three years, as the contract stipulates.
“Let me also say that despite the rains, we are still working. The rains have not disturbed our working schedule, except for [last] Monday, when we only worked for three hours due to heavy rainfall,” Taombe said.
BAT Stadium is expected to take about 17,000 people and will also have dressing rooms and offices.
