Raymond Jaravaza, Sports Correspondent
MATABELELAND region is in the driving seat in the ongoing Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services Commissioner General’s Sports Week Games that are taking place in Bulawayo and Ntabazinduna.
The region is leading in five sporting disciplines.
The games have an average of 120 athletes representing each of the five administrative regions namely Matabeleland, Mashonaland, Manicaland, Midlands/Masvingo and National Headquarters in 10 sporting disciplines.
As of yesterday evening Matabeleland region topped in athletics, pool, darts, tennis and football.
On the athletics front the region had amassed 10 gold, 5 silver and four bronze medals collecting a total of 222 points ahead of second placed Mashonaland with 151 points.
Football is proving to a Matabeleland affair with the region topping the table after a round of four matches, romping to victory in three matches and drawing once.
The same goes for darts, pool and tennis where the region is enjoying comfortable leads ahead of the other four regions.
Commissioner General of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services, an avid golfer, Paradzai Zimondi while teeing off at the Harry Allen Golf Club said the games are meant to foster interaction and integration among prisons officers where a national team will be selected for the Sadc Games next year.
Southern African countries are pencilled to meet in August for the Sadc Prisons, Penitentiary, Correctional Services Sports and Cultural Exchange Games. The host country is yet to be announced.
“There is no better platform for our officers who work in various stations across the country to interact and share ideas on a range of issues than the annual Sports Week. We also strive to maintain a healthy service through sport and we are forever grateful to the sponsors that came on board to assist us revive the games that were last held in 2012,” said Zimondi.
He also urged officers to remain vigilant in the face of the hard economic times that the country is facing.
‘There is light at the end of the tunnel. The needs of our officers always come first, the government is hard at work trying to make sure that the plight of our officers is addressed as a matter of urgency,’ he said.
Nyaradzo and Moonlight Funeral Services together with GTel are the principal sponsors while the government also chipped in with some of the funding.
The curtain comes down today with an official closing ceremony in Ntabazinduna.