- Will not intervene in Cricket Board decisions
- Holistic approach for youth empowerment
- Sports Act next year
Minister of Youth and Sports Namal Rajapaksa, Photo Pradeep Dambarage[/caption]
Minister of Youth and Sports Namal Rajapaksa returns to The Sunday Morning Hot Seat this week to provide much-needed clarifications and to respond to some of our queries relating to sports and the youth of Sri Lanka.
Following are excerpts of the interview;
The year is packed with international cricket tournaments. How long will you wait to see whether there will be any improvement following the changes you've already made?
The changes we have suggested will come into effect immediately with the restructuring that is scheduled to take place. A list of nominated persons to be included in the committee was handed over to the Sri Lanka Cricket Board, which will then decide as to who is to be included in the restructuring committee. A separate committee will be appointed from the Ministry as well; in that way, they will have the mandate to restructure Sri Lanka Cricket, which is scheduled to take place within a three-month timeline.
What we need to realise is that we need to create world-class athletes and we need to give them a reasonable time to train. Unfortunately, not only in cricket, but in all sports during the last five years, the country did not have a proper programme. Therefore, we need to give a reasonable timeframe to coaches to present a positive outcome.
There is no point in changing a coach every six months. We have seen in the past a new management and a new coach being appointed for every tour. That method will not help us improve the sport in the long run. So, what we are looking at is a long-term programme; in the case of cricket, we are looking at the 2023 World Cup and beyond. This is the event we are targeting, so we need to be patient and give them sufficient time to bring the team to the expected form.
The structural changes, however, will take place in the next three months, which is actually the difficult part – this is why we need to work hard and have patience to achieve a positive outcome.
Some within the local cricket fraternity have voiced their concerns over Mahela Jayawardene's role in the game. If he is showing interest in favouring his own crowd and his club, SSC, what steps will you take?
Mahela is the Head of the National Sports Council, and his appointment has nothing to do with cricket. His duties include looking into the improvement of overall sports in the country and drafting the blueprint for sports to ensure there is a level of professionalism in all sports, and then advise the Ministry on how to establish it.
The ground reality is that all these personnel represent some sports club, so we cannot have a particular person coming in as an advisor. What matters here is the professionalism that each of them brings to the Council.
Mahela has been very professional and he has contributed towards structuring high-performance players, whose contracting is now being done in a very professional manner. So, the matter here is that people who are entrusted with a task to serve the country carry out their duties in a professional manner.
The SLC and its election process is full of corruption, and this is very much a proven fact. Will there be any real change in the system if the SLC goes for another election before end-May and, with some party from the same set of faces, come back into power?
If the Ministry interferes with the matters of the SLC at the present moment, then they will say the Minister is attempting to politicise cricket. That is not accepted by the media as well.
What the media and the public should do is to create awareness among the cricketing and sporting communities about their responsibilities towards electing competent persons.
The board members are not being elected by the Government or the public; they are nominated by their respective cricket clubs that later on elect them to these positions. The respective cricket clubs should know who will do best to improve the sport. They should know that they are in fact electing capable people to manage their cricketing professionals.
In the long run, the contribution the Sport Ministry can make is amending the Sports Act, which will introduce a new structure for administration in every sport. That will also include changing the voting pattern for boards. So, each sport will have their administration board and each sporting association will have their own structure to run sports, which will happen in the next two years.
But the biggest challenge the Sports Ministry and media organisations have at present is to educate our sporting community to elect the right people.
The appointment of Jerome Jayaratne as the new Manager of the Sri Lanka cricket team has been questioned by many, implying that you appointed him to that position since he was connected to your family through marriage. What is your response to that allegation?
First of all, he was not appointed as the new Manager of the Sri Lanka cricket team; he was put to overlook the work because the manager resigned. So, the permanent manager will be decided by the cricketing committee that was to be appointed by the Cricket Board following our request.
Jerome has been working in the cricket sector and the Cricket Board long before his daughter got married to my brother. If that is the argument citizens are bringing up, then if I get appointed as the Minister of Tourism, my father-in-law will have to close down all his hotels, which is not a fair reaction.
In Jerome’s case, he has been involved in cricket for a long time and is qualified and experienced enough to be appointed to the current position; he has all the right to apply when a position is vacant and claim his eligibility as a professional.
What action will Sri Lanka take against Dilhara Lokuhettige who was found guilty of three offences under the International Cricket Council (ICC) Anti-Corruption Code (ACC), following a hearing by an independent tribunal last month?
We have zero tolerance towards corruption from the Sports Ministry’s side. It does not matter at which level it is committed. We have already made sure that we have to be very transparent and clear as to what our vision and mission are. When a sportsperson is being accused and he/she has been convicted or given a judgement, then he/she has a right to appeal. So, it is up to him/her and his/her lawyers to decide on the way forward.We as the Ministry, and the Minister, will not co-operate or tolerate any level of corruption. But we will also give everyone a fair hearing. At the same time, we have to make sure we do keep our discipline in check when it comes to administration, playing the sport, and training. This is the responsibility of the administrators to make sure their athletes comply with these regulations. How will the performance-based pay model roll out for sportsmen and sportswomen going forward? Have you set up key performance indicators and a ranking system to monitor? It will change from sport to sport. For instance, if we take athletics, it can be based on their performance timing and the IAAF (World Athletics) ranking. We are planning to have certifying or qualifying events each quarter so that we could keep them motivated to improve their performance. At the same time, there are team sports, in which we have to look at individual performances that contribute towards the overall team’s performance. So cricket, rugby, and football can go with their international rankings for individual players and teams. We cannot have a blanket payment structure to all sports due to these reasons, and we will correspond on how performance is measured for each sport. At present, the high-performance sports committee is doing the structuring and monitoring for each sport. What is the progress on establishing high-performance sports centres and how have the athletes been selected? We have already initiated the projects and contacted 56 athletes from different sports. We are targeting their qualification to take part in the Olympics and other international-level sporting events in 2022. We are looking at establishing tracks at the High-Performance Centre in Diyagama, for which we have reached out to the corporate sector, and we are also looking at attracting a foreign investment for the track to be built at the High-Performance Centre on Kirimandala Mawatha. Both these projects are under discussion at the moment, and both parties have shown keen interest and have responded positively towards our requests. What is the plan on restarting school sports seasons in terms of contact sports? Will school sports also be instructed to follow the bio-bubble concept, given that we are not seeing any signs of Covid-19 slowing down this year? It all depends on the medical officer of health (MOH) in the area where the sporting event will take place. If you look at the density of Covid-19 prevalence in each area, it varies. We cannot implement the same concept we implement in Monaragala in, say, Colombo. So, we have already instructed the school sector to look into following area-specific Covid-19 health guidelines and act according to the MOHs’ advice. For sporting events such as Big Match and the Bradby, they can follow the instructions that were issued last year. We have advised them that they can follow the bio-bubble concept and host the events. It is up to the colleges to decide on whether they are willing to go forward. Any update on the sports schools you planned to establish? We already have 25 schools that have been established and recognised as sports schools, to which five more schools will be added. A school is being designed in Sooriyawewa, and then the Mahinda Rajapaksa Vidyalaya in Homagama too was selected recently to be converted into a sports school. We are in the process of procuring five synthetic tracks at the moment that are 130 metres in length. The dormitory facilities are being established and other necessary infrastructure development is currently underway. By the end of 2021, we will see very good progress on a structural level, which will enable us to attract more kids to these sports schools. We have already identified a few youngsters who will be enrolled in these sports schools. What is the progress on the Sports Act amendment? When do you plan to present it to Parliament? The recommendations will be presented to Cabinet in the next two weeks. The committee that was appointed to formulate the recommendations has been in regular discussion with the Ministry on the proposed amendments and the way forward on communicating these amendments to the Attorney General’s (AG) Department. A timeline of one year has been set up and hopefully, the final draft will be done by early next year and presented to Parliament. I really do not want to rush these amendments, as it has not been done for nearly 50 years. So, I want all stakeholders involved to include their input and representations as well. Creating employment opportunities for the youth sector seems to have been derailed due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation in the country. What is your plan in ensuring the youth are able to secure employment in the state or private sectors? We are working closely with the Education Ministry and state ministries as well as the relevant subject ministries to get the structures going. We are looking at establishing a special unit under each ministry to work towards addressing the youth employment issue. The youth unemployment rate in Sri Lanka was at 20.2% before the Covid-19 outbreak, and I presume it might have now reached at least 30-40%. We have to look at a two-pronged approach that is to improve skilled and unskilled labour. At the same time, we are looking at establishing institutions in rural areas rather than looking at importing job opportunities in urbanised and industrial zones. We are negotiating with several investors who are interested in establishing infrastructure and factories in each AG division where there will be one AG division. Discussions are also taking place with the Foreign Employment Bureau to create more foreign employment opportunities. As the Ministry of Youth, we are working very closely with these departments and ministries in creating job opportunities. We are also looking at creating job opportunities in the agricultural sector, for which we are holding discussions with the Agriculture Ministry and Mahaweli Ministry to encourage youngsters to seek employment in agriculture. The Mahaweli Ministry and Lands and Land Development Ministry have already set up a unit; even the Ministry of Youth has its own department known as SED – that is assisting small enterprise holders to develop their businesses. We are also looking at developing a properly structured seed fund to assist in establishing tech start-ups under the TRC (Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka), for which discussions are scheduled to take place from this week onwards. At present, we are looking at encouraging the youth to undergo vocational and technical training as well as to support them to be qualified to obtain employment as skilled professionals and connect them to the job market. At the moment, that is what is missing – linking the youth with the job market based on their skill levels.
We are working with the private sector to explore the possibilities of creating the environment to nurture young entrepreneurs who are keen on establishing start-ups to match these markets.What programmes has the National Youth Services Council proposed so far to keep the youth of this country engaged in various activities that will empower their talents? The Youth Ministry, the Youth Council, and the Youth Corp are working together to achieve these goals and the Youth Council has always been seen as a hub for entertainment or having youth camps. So, what I am looking at is to go beyond that and make it an institution that will guide these children to build their career path on employment or on how to select the job that will match their qualifications or selecting the suited vocational training programme to achieve their ambitions of employment. Our responsibility towards the youth is to act as one – to make sure we connect these youngsters and guide and mentor them to get into the right path in life. These are the programmes we are conducting at the moment through the Youth Council. Of course, traditional programmes such as the State Youth Theatre Festival and other programmes will continue. We are looking at conducting a National Youth Film Festival and a Jaffna Film Festival. The Jaffna Film Festival will be held to encourage the increasing number of short films that are being produced each year. We are also looking at assigning youth councils to instil discipline in youngsters through various sporting activities and events. We have already established archery and air rifle shooting ranges in these premises, where lessons are being conducted. We have already increased the number of students we take in for vocational training and skill development institutes that will work together with the Youth Council as well. We are on the verge of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the private sector as well as providing on-the-job training to students who are graduating from these institutions. We are looking at a holistic approach where there is inter-ministerial communication and understating when it comes to youth empowerment.