Sports and county officials from the political
sub-divisions of the country attired in their respective county colors paraded
the principal streets of Harper to welcome the ceremony to that coastal city.
At an indoor program held in the Harper City Hall,
Harper City Mayor welcomed the decision by the Ministry of Youth & Sports
to stage the official opening ceremony of the event in Harper. She said the
people of Maryland were honored by the selection and assured representatives of
the counties of a memorable, peaceful [and] hospitable environment.
The Minister of State without Portfolio,
Ambassador Conmany Wesseh, representing President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,
extended warm felicitations from the President to all county sports officials,
participants and sports enthusiasts. On behalf of President Sirleaf, Ambassador
Wesseh expressed regrets for her inability to personally witness the opening
ceremony, owing to other pressing state matters.
He however assured participants that the Chief
Executive would follow closely the events which he indicated are the heart of
government's policy of reconciliation through sports, "because without it
our development agenda will be hampered."
He also commended officials of the Ministry of
Youth & Sports, County officials and sports administrations as well as
athletes for gracing the occasion and admonished them to be good sports
ambassadors for their respective counties. Minister Wesseh later took the
ceremonial kick-off, signaling the official start of the 2012/2013 National
Sports Meet.
For his part, Youth & Sports Minister S.
TornorlahVarpilah explained that the hosting of the event in Harper was in
furtherance of the spirit of unification and integration which was promoted by
the late Liberian President William V.S. Tubman, a son of Maryland County.
In his comment, Minister Varpilah commended the
National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) and other institutions, including Lone
Star cell MTN for their sponsorship, saying the collaboration will go a long
way in strengthening and enhancing the growth of the National Sports Meet.
Meanwhile, NOCAL is said to be providing two sets
of outfits for each participating county team in the five disciplines of the
competition in the 2012-2013 National Sports Meet, including football,
kickball, basketball, athletics and volleyball.
The company is also said to be providing boots and
sneakers for the players, as well as promotional t-shirts for spectators and county
officials. Billboards are also printed and erected in the counties to promote
this year's National Sports meet.
Lifted from
the New Dawn Newspaper online
No comments:
Post a Comment