“A clean environment ensures a clean sport” was one of the keynote points of National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ) Secretary-General Boniface Kambikambi’s welcoming remarks as he addressed young athletes and youth leaders who had gathered at OYDC Zambia – Sports Development Centre to join the rest of the world in commemorating the Clean-Up Day which falls annually on September 19.’’
With Coronavirus cases having surpassed 13,000 countrywide and 30 million worldwide as well as hygiene being a key factor, Kambikambi took the opportunity to remind the sporting audience that this event was an important one to humanity as the environment was vital to everyday life.
“Every day our newspapers, websites, programmes are flooded with stories about the environment, especially this year that we are in Coronavirus crisis.
“The earth is experiencing an unprecedented scale of extreme weather events heat waves, dry spells, cold winds, and Zambia is not an exemption, this is a clear warning and message that we should act now to move through cushioning the situation by keeping our environments safe and clean. With the take of the novel covid 19 pandemic, it is of paramount importance to take extra care of the quality of cleanliness of our environment.”
Kambikambi further urged people to ensure that the efforts of the day that would involve cleaning up the various sports facilities around OYDC should also be extended to the rest of the environment.
He later, in the company of OYDC Chief Executive Officer Fredrick Chitangala, led the guests who included representatives from the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection, Christopher Katongo Foundation, and Citizens Environmental and Social Concern (CESCO) as well as the young athletes to a cleaning up session of the facility.
Among some of the cleaning activities involved were picking litter around the facility, slashing as well as raking.
Also in attendance were members of the NOCZ board and volunteers.
This year marked the first participation for NOCZ in the annual event that is coordinated by the international organisation Let’s Do It.
Citizens Environmental and Social Concern (CESCO) Executive Director Conwell Hakapya (left) and Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Environmental Protection - Environmental and Research Officer Awsard Sakala (right)
The local Olympic sport governing body joined the rest of the NOCs around the continent after the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Let’s Do It to celebrate the environmental event.
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