Mwiya warns sports leaders against dual roles

Governance
Mariud Ngula
  • 8 Hours Ago

Namibia Sport Commission (NSC) chief administrator Freddy Mwiya has cautioned sports leaders against holding dual roles at different levels of governance, warning that such arrangements create blurred reporting lines and potential conflicts of interest.

He made the remarks at a recent volleyball workshop, where a regional chairperson who also serves on a federation board questioned whether the structure creates contradictions in decision-making.

The representative raised concerns about situations in which the same individual participates in decision-making at board level and then returns to implement those decisions at regional or association level.

Mwiya said such arrangements can lead to governance challenges.

“It is an issue of governance and reporting lines. The moment you are sitting at the top while also serving in a lower structure, it becomes a challenge,” he said.


Do not remain in subordinate structures

He explained that once a leader assumes responsibility at board level, they are effectively overseeing the entire system and should avoid remaining in subordinate structures within the same programme.

“You must be able to distinguish your role. When you are at that higher level, you are in charge of the whole system. Do not get conflicted again underneath that,” said Mwiya.

Drawing from personal experience, Mwiya said that when he joined the sports commission in 2017, he stepped away from management roles in other structures to avoid governance overlap.

“If I attend meetings at lower levels while knowing the laws and policies from the top, it can create a toxic environment. You may begin influencing or challenging decisions in a way that disrupts the system,” he said.


‘Relinquish lower roles’

He stressed that while expertise in a sport is important, governance requires a clear separation of roles.

“We do not want people who do not understand the sport. But the moment you rise to a higher governance level, you must relinquish the lower role. Someone else must take over that responsibility,” he said.

Mwiya indicated that the commission intends to further educate federations and members on governance structures to ensure clearer accountability and independence within sport.

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