Namibia National Paralympic Committee (NNPC) secretary general, Michael Hamukwaya, has said the stand-alone African Paralympic Games will offer athletes the opportunity to improve their performance ahead of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

The first-ever African Paralympic Games are scheduled for 04 to 12 August 2023 in Accra, Ghana. This will be the first time a continental Paralympic competition will be held as a stand-alone event. Previously, the competition formed part of the African Games.

In an interview with Nampa on Tuesday, Hamukwaya said the Para Games will make it easy for Africans to compete at home instead of travelling to Europe or elsewhere to qualify for the Paralympic Games.

“America, Asia and Europe have their games. But for Africa, we have always been squeezed into the able-bodied games which meant that events were left out,” he said, adding that the stand-alone games will allow many athletes to compete in different sports codes.

The NNPC secretary general stated that he is happy to see the dream coming to fruition, but noted that more sports codes should be added to future Africa Paralympic Games.

“The Paralympic Games have 24 sports codes and our maiden edition in Africa will have seven codes. This means many athletes are left out, but it’s the beginning and we have to celebrate this milestone,” Hamukwaya said.

Samson Deen, president of the African Paralympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee of Ghana, recently told Nampa that Morocco was elected to host the African Paralympic Games in 2019, but it did not take place. He said Ghana then took up the challenge and he is confident that they will deliver a great event.

“Being the first-ever edition without any records or framework, it is expected that there will be some initial technical, administrative, logistical and organisational challenges. However, this notwithstanding, I do not doubt Ghana’s readiness and ability to organise and deliver the games,” he said.

Deen added that hosting the first African Paralympic Games will be a gamechanger for the Paralympic movement in Africa.

“The first African Para Games, Accra 2023 will provide African para athletes with the opportunity to experience a multi-para sporting event as a stand-alone event on the African continent,” he said while stating that the games will catalyse further development and the promotion of para-sports in Africa.

He added that the games will also promote social inclusion, and help to break the barrier of stigmatisation against persons with disabilities.

Namibia plans to compete in athletics and powerlifting at the games.

(NAMPA)

Source: The Namibian Press Agency