|
|
| July 24, 2003 | Thursday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 23, 1424 |
Federations to receive financial assistance
LAHORE, July 23: Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) will provide financial assistance to all those 13 national sports federations whose grant-in-aid has been suspended by Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) for not implementing the national sports policy-2001.
“This was disclosed by POA secretary Muhammad Latif Butt at a press conference after attending the general council meeting held on Wednesday.
PSB, had stopped the grant-in-aid of the bodybuilding, cycling, judo, karate, kabaddi, football, rowing, handball, table tennis, swimming, weightlifting, wrestling and volleyball federations.
The grant of gymnastics federation was also suspended. But PSB withdrew the decision after the federation pleaded that it did not fall under the clause of the sports policy which refrains any official to hold offices of a federation for more than two terms.
Latif said that aid would be provided subject to the recommedations of a nine-man POA finance committee and approval by the POA president Syed Wajid Ali Shah.
The POA secretary said that the decision of providing financial aid was only for a year. It could be extended, if the circumstances allowed for it.
He slammed the performance of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).
“PSB held its last general council meeting after a lapse of nine years. POA is being run by 10 officials, whereas PSB has recruited 300 officials”, Latif said.
The secretary contended that major funds of PSB were being utilised on salaries of its staff, instead of sports activities.
“There is only temperature controlled swimming pool in Islamabad, a cycling velodrome is available only in Lahore which is also in poor condition, but the government is making tall claims of laying down the infrastructure at tehsil level”, Latif said.
29TH NATIONAL GAMES: The secretary said that Balochistan will host the 29th National Games tentatively from May 15, 2004.
He said that Balochistan sports minister Lt Col Muhammad Younis Chengazi who also attended the general council meeting, assured the house that his province was ready to hold the games.
“The minister has assured the house that his province would fulfil the conditions of POA of laying a tartan track and a swimming pool for the games”, the secretary said.
The minister later also attended the press briefing and repeated the assurance.
“First, I had refused the games because time was short and there were no proper facilities in Quetta”, the minister said.
The minister said that later he met the prime minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali who had approved a grant of Rs 50 million for building the two facilities (swimming and tartan track).
He said that hard task was ahead to construct a swimming pool in a short time. The tartan track would take hardly three-months, he said.
While replying to a question, Latif said Balochistan would hold the National gala even those sports facilities would not have been completed at the time of start of the games.
“POA applys conditions of availability of sports infrastructure while awarding national games only to develop the sports facilities in that province and the purpose has been achieved as the funds has been earmarked and the sports minister has extended guarantee”, he said.
The secretary said that tentative dates of the games could be changed, if Pakistan regains the ninth SAF Games.
The games had been shifted from Pakistan to Sri Lanka early this year. But Sri Lanka had refused to hold it, therefore, Pakistan could regain the games.
|
|
