Should Corporate World Ignore Senior Golfers for Youth Focus?
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By Ashton Kelly Bunda
An Old adage states that “A One Good Turn Deserves Another” while the other one says “Scratch my back and I scratch yours too”.
For the past years, business houses have been wholeheartedly sponsoring the Zambia Open Golf Champions at lightning speed, but did not reap what was sowed.
Despite making efforts of raising the standards by getting to the globally recognized ‘Sun Shine Tour’ status, Zambian ‘Top Dog’ golfers have been failing to make the cut, through which to qualify to the summit of the prestigious tournament and thus scope the first prize trophy.
In the year 2015, President Edgar Chagwa Lungu urged professional golfers just before the pro-am tournament to put their proverbial “Best Foot Forward” and wrestle the trophy off the title holders by using home ground advantage, but to no avail.
The corporate society that has been led by Zambia White Spoon Sugar based in the prestigious fields of Nakambala Sugar Estates in Mazabuka District of the Southern Province of Zambia.
The Investors in the golf fraternity have lamented that their contributions have not been paying dividends as the senior teams never lived up to their expectations, and that they were not impressed with the performance in the past years failing to put up a good fight to beat visiting players to win the main cup in full view of the whole world on Super Sport television the one of the world’s best sports media giants.
In the prelude of the 2017 Zambia sugar Open representative Japheth Banda announced that his organization is contemplating focusing attention to grooming children and the youths to build a firm foundation and establish a strong Zambian golf fraternity.
“We are going flat out to identify talent among the children , the age of the child is not a factor for as long as he or she is able to stand handle the golf stick properly”, Banda explained.
In the year 2015 a horde of young Zambian golfers led by Sydney Silavwe performed wonders, wining Kudus in the Botswana Tri- Nation tournament, encouraging Zambia Sugar administrators represented by Japheth Banda.
Sports, Youth and Child Development Minister Moses Mawere pleaded with main sponsors of the Zambia Sugar Open Golf tournament after word had gotten around that sponsors have not yielded any rewards, but uninspiring performance hence considering to pullout.
However, the Puma Energy Zambia led by General Manager Yahaya Yunusa has decided to continue “Oiling” the Mopani Red path Zambia Open Golf tournament by donating US $25000 towards hosting the prestigious event hoping that someday a world renowned golf prodigy will be born on the Copperbelt Province or any part of Zambia to provide formidable competition to world.
The forward looking Yunusa vowed to continue supporting their old buddies with the sympathetic “Come Sun Shine or Rain” or “For Better or Worse” attitude that they have been friends for more that 4 decades now.
The promising Puma Energy Mopani Red Path that will take place on the Copper belt is being engineered by the current Finance Minister Felix Mutati who is the chairperson of the organizing committee.
The corporate society and the Zambian sports fraternity should not take any credit from the women golfers led by Melisa Nawa and Moono who recently won the Malawi open and earlier dominated in Botswana.
