The Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture's week-long restructuring workshop is continuing at Hotel Galaxy in Ongwediva, Oshana Region.

The workshop has brought together sport coordinators from all 14 regions, directorates, and officials from the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture.

The workshop aims to shape the future organisational structure of the Departments of Youth, Sport, and National Services.

One of the objectives is to integrate the ministry's expanded mandate while reviewing the current organisational framework of Youth, Sport, and National Services to ensure it aligns with plans.

NBC Sport spoke to Director of Sport Development, Jo Ann Manuel, who said the restructuring process is intended to create a functional and sustainable structure to support sport development across the country.

"We are reviewing and aligning our current structure. At the moment, sport is clustered, meaning one Chief Sport Officer is responsible for more than one region. For example, the Chief Sport Officer in Oshana previously served three regions. With decentralisation, each region should have its own staff. We are realigning the structure to ensure every region has its own Sport Officer and to remove the system where officers report across multiple regions. We are also considering having a Sport Officer in every constituency. At this stage, we are collecting ideas, which will be submitted to the relevant authorities for consideration. We also have to consider the wage bill and whether the proposed structure will be affordable. Our priority is to develop a practical structure that supports our staff, and enables us to identify and develop athletes who can represent the country at international competitions. I believe these changes will improve service delivery, and I have confidence that my colleagues will continue to perform their duties despite the changes in reporting lines."

Meanwhile, Director of General Services Ellencia Hanse said the workshop is focused on aligning the ministry's structure with the needs of young people in all 14 regions following the decentralisation of sport functions.

She said participants are also being inducted on youth and sport functions to prepare them for implementation at the regional level.

"This is a two-fold workshop. During the first four days, we focused on restructuring the organisational structure for Youth and Sport. From Friday to Saturday, we will conduct an induction on youth and sport functions. Sport functions were decentralised after the minister signed agreements with the chairpersons of all 14 regional councils in May 2026. As a result, these functions have now moved to the regions. We needed to review our structure to ensure it aligns with our strategic objectives and remains relevant to regional needs. We must respond to the needs of young people and all our stakeholders. Our structure should also align with NDP6 and the Government's priorities, where sport and youth are among the key focus areas. This workshop is intended to empower the regions by ensuring they understand their responsibilities, how these functions should be implemented, and the expected outcomes. Previously, these functions were managed at the national level, but they are now being implemented in the regions. We encourage everyone to embrace these changes so that services can be delivered efficiently and effectively."

Once completed, the proposed organisational structure will be submitted to the Public Service Commission for review before implementation.