The House of Representatives has invited authorities of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Internal Affairs, and Finance to provide updates surrounding the conduct of the 2022/2023 National County Sports Meet.
The august body latest decision was reached on Monday during its 7th day leadership meeting on Capitol Hill.
The National County Sports Meet, inaugurated in 1956, is an annual sporting festival organized and hosted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The event is primarily a platform intended to forge national unity and reconciliation in Liberia.
The 2022—2023 version of the event will commence on Saturday, December 17, 2022 in the port city of Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.
It can be recalled that House Speaker, Dr. Bhofal Chambers, in January 2022 said underfunding of the National County Meet is critically a pressing national problem the nation has been faced with.
“All of the counties do not have the same capacity in preparing their teams. They often travel under perilous conditions to the games. If this trend continues, fairness in the process or the optimization of the county meet competition will be a distant reality, if not an illusion,” he asserted.
Speaker Chamber maintained that the State has to take ownership and not rely on the goodwill of individuals.
“It is therefore categorically timely that this Legislature appropriates US$100,000 (one hundred thousand United States dollars) to each county directly to independently manage their funds for full participation. In addition, US$250,000 (two hundred fifty thousand United State dollars) be provided to the Youth and Sports Ministry for its supervisory role in the conduct of the competition,” he added.
Meanwhile, the appearance of authorities of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Internal Affairs and Finance will take place in the office of House Speaker, Dr. Bhofal Chambers, on Wednesday, November 30, 2022.