Honourable Symon Vuwa Kaunda, MP, Minister of Youth Development and Sports;
Mr Alex  Mseka, Secretary for Youth Development and Sports;
Mr Kelvin Mmangisa, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Silver Strikers Football Club and Member of FAM Technical Committee;
Senior Officials from the Sports Fraternity;
Management of the Reserve Bank of Malawi;
Members of the Press;
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.

Honourable Minister, I would like to welcome you and your entourage to the Reserve Bank of Malawi Club House on this auspicious occasion when the prestigious Silver Stadium is being handed over to the Malawi Government by the Reserve Bank of Malawi. I also wish to express my gratitude and appreciation to you Honourable Minister for accepting our invitation to be with us today.

Honourable Minister, Reserve Bank of Malawi believes that healthy workers contribute more to economic activities that is why Silver Strikers Football Club was established in the early 1980s. However, the Bank realized that without a proper training ground and other sports facilities, it was not easy for the team to play quality football, let alone win any tournament or cup competition. The Bank therefore constructed Silver Stadium in 1988 as a contribution towards the development of sports infrastructure in the country. As you are aware, this brought the total number of football grounds in the City of Lilongwe to two. Over the years, Silver Stadium has not only served Silver Strikers Football Club but has also been a venue to numerous tournaments and cup competitions between football clubs as well as hosting social events.

Honourable Minister and distinguished guests, in recent times, the Bank embarked on a restructuring exercise with a view to concentrating on its core activities in order to improve service delivery and to fulfill its vision of becoming the country’s premier institution in the provision of financial services. The Bank also embarked on several cost minimization measures in an effort to reduce its operational expenses following reduced income from its traditional sources. Among other things, the Bank identified the Silver Stadium as one area whose maintenance costs was not sustainable and therefore decided to donate it to Government.

The Bank is however committed to continue to sponsor Silver Strikers Football Club with an annual sponsorship of K25.0 million but it will not be part of the Club’s management team. This is to enable the Club to operate commercially and independent of the Bank.

Honourable Minister, distinguished guests, Silver Stadium stands on leasehold land on Plot Number 47/498A with 3.505 hectares and has capacity of 18,000 people. The asset value as at 13 December 2005 was K137 million with property value accounting for K130 million and land value of K7 million.

Honourable Minister, distinguished guests, I am confident that Ministry of Youth Development and Sports will maintain the Stadium to the best standards.  I am also confident that the Ministry will accord Silver Strikers Football Club priority to use the Stadium both for its football and fund raising activities. We realize that a football team of the stature of Silver Strikers will always need an excellent ground to compete effectively.

Honourable Minister, distinguished guests, it is now my singular honour and pleasure to officially hand over Silver Stadium to the Malawi Government through your Ministry, Sir.

Thank you all for your attention and may God Bless our Nation.