Namibian athletes living with disabilities have expressed their disappointment in the government for resettling homeless people on the Katutura Multipurpose Youth Centre sports field as they can no longer use the facilities to train.

Since 2020 the Katutura youth hostel and sports complex have been used to house homeless people as a Cabinet decision was taken to house those who had nowhere to live in Windhoek during the COVID-19 lockdowns, on the premises.

Three years down the line, athletes who use the venues as their training ground have to navigate between tents erected on the track and on basketball, volleyball and netball courts.

In an interview with Nampa on Wednesday, wheelchair racer Roodley Gowaseb said training at the Katutura Multipurpose Youth Centre has become unbearable.

“Those of us using wheelchairs can’t even train there as you have to navigate between tents to train. You also can’t use a roller at the gym because opening the door exposes you to bad smells coming from outside as people are helping themselves everywhere possible,” he said, adding that the government should come to their rescue.

Meanwhile, T37 sprinter Petrus Karuli echoed his sentiments, saying the sports complex is no longer a place they call home.

“You know that those using the court for wheelchair basketball can no longer train because there are tents erected on that court, and people are helping themselves everywhere. The smell at that field is bad, one has to wear a mask to train,” Karuli said.

Namibia National Paralympic Committee secretary general Michael Hamukwaya told this news agency the environment is not conducive for training.

“During COVID-19 we understood when people were resettled here, but it has become too much,” he said.

Hamukwaya said the area has become unhygienic and the facilities are being vandalised, which will mean extra expenses once the homeless people are relocated.

Erastus Haitengela, the Executive Director of the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service, recently told Nampa the issue has been elevated to Cabinet for assessment.

“As a ministry we want our facility back for the youth and athletes to utilise it for the intended purpose,” he said.

He added that a decision was taken in 2022 for the homeless people to be moved to Brakwater on the outskirts of Windhoek, but they refused to move as they said it is too far from the schools their children attend.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency