NCS In Crisis

Aug 19, 2002

NATIONAL Council of Sports (NCS) is in a financial crisis that could soon grind it to a halt.

By James BakamaNATIONAL Council of Sports (NCS) is in a financial crisis that could soon grind it to a halt.“It’s pathetic,” complained NCS general secretary Abbey Lutaya (right) of a situation that currently has council operating at 10% of its budgetary requirement.Government’s funding towards NCS has consistently plunged from sh942m in 1992 to sh390m in the last financial year.Problems were recently heightened by education and sports state minister Henry Oryem’s insistence to use sh161m from NCS’ vote on Uganda’s team to the Commonwealth Games team.Lutaya revealed that NCS is operating at half strength. He said the underpaid staff also have to stretch for long hours.“This includes weekends, public holidays, so as to cover the magnitude of work load which has more than doubled due to proliferation of sports activities.”Lutaya says the present sh12m wage bill needs to be doubled if council’s administrative duties are to be comfortably carried out.Shortages mean that council can only have an administrative staff structure minus a technical wing contrary to requirements of the NCS Act.“The last resort is to rely on goodwill and sacrifice of volunteer coaches/ instructors to man outreach program, which we have initiated,” he said.Absence of a financial provision for major international commitments like the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and other engagements, has not helped matters.Adhoc government decisions that encroach on NCS’s limited funds have worsened the situation.An example is the sh50m presidential offer to the Kobs for their 1999 Olympic qualifier against Angola, which was deducted from the NCS vote.A similar expense was the sh90 spent on Uganda’s All Africa Games team that was also deducted from the same vote.Some light was recently sighted at the end of the tunnel when the minister for the presidency Prof. Gilbert Bukenya promised government support.But, even this, might first have to crystallize before it is taken seriously. A 1997 parliamentary decision that would have rescued NCS’ financial plight via proceeds of a 2% with-holding tax amounting to sh1.02bn never materialised.Ends

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