April 25, 2016 By Sahr Morris Jr.
Sierra Leone’s newly appointed Minister of Sports, Ahmed Khanou, his team at the ministry and the National Sports Council last Friday made a working visit to members of the Sports Writers Association of Sierra Leone (SWASAL).
The meeting, which was held at the Harry Yassaneh Memorial Hall, SLAJ headquarters in Freetown, saw the sports minister and team engage sports journalists in a dialogue on matters relating to the development of sports in the country.
In his statement, the minister said one of his aims was to get common ground within the sports family, a move he cannot achieve without involving the sports writers.
He said: “So much is going on within our sports family which is not good, that is why I am here to engage you the sports journalists so that we can brainstorm and come out with several ideas for headway in our industry.
“Sports journalists are important and you are the right partners towards my drive to leaving a blueprint within the sports sector. You the sports journalist are our colleagues in sports management, so we need to cooperate to lift sports from this deplorable condition which we are all guilty of. You are our inter partner in management of sports in the country, so we need that good image again to seek the attention of corporate entities.”
Khanou, who also heaped praise on SWASAL and membership for their contribution and support during his term as secretary general of Sierra Leone Volleyball Association, said he would run sports with an open door approach, backed by discipline and respect for all.
President of SWASAL, Frank Cole, thanked the minister for his gesture to visit SWASAL and membership and for also expressing what he described as genuine concerns towards the development and growth of sports in the country.
The SWASAL president lamented on the lack of ethic by some sports journalists in carrying out their job, adding that his executive was working relentlessly towards building capacity of their membership.
“This is a process to improve or change the old nature of unprofessional work, but we will continue to do our best to change the mentality of sports reporting in Sierra Leone,” the SWASAL president said.
The meeting was climaxed by an interactive session between the sports minister and sports journalists.