NAFAZ caught offside . . . SRC rules Zifa dissolution fraudulent

26 Jun, 2016 - 00:06 0 Views
NAFAZ caught offside . . . SRC rules Zifa dissolution fraudulent

The Sunday Mail

Makomborero Mutimukulu Sports Editor
Zifa employees who have filed a High Court application seeking the dissolution of the association to be declared null and void are ready for an out of court settlement. Through their lawyer, Pauline Kadembo, the employees – who want the new Nafaz declared a non-existent legal entity – disclosed that their negotiation team would be led by former Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze.

THE Sports and Recreation Commission has described the purported dissolution of Zifa as seemingly fraudulent and in violation of the soccer governing body’s constitution. The country’s football leaders met at Zifa Village on June 4 and overwhelmingly voted to dissolve the body before creating the National Football Association of Zimbabwe (Nafaz) a few hours later.

However, that day may go down in local football history as one full of drama but little substance. SRC acting director-general Joseph Muchechetere yesterday said the country’s supreme sports body would not endorse the process which gave birth to Nafaz.

“The SRC is there to safeguard national interests and we cannot be seen giving our blessings to a seemingly fraudulent process,” he said. “There people who are owed money by Zifa are Zimbabweans, their Zifa workers are Zimbabweans and their interests must be safeguarded.“There has been a lot of speculation and misinformation but our position as the SRC is that Zifa is not dead and we don’t know about Nafaz, we just read about it.”

The SRC’s stance has stopped Zifa president Phillip Chiyangwa and his board, who have been pushing for the dissolution of Zifa and the flourishing of Nafaz, dead in their tracks.In an apparent climb down a notice has since been issued advising for a July 9 extraordinary congress in Harare to discuss Zifa’s proposed dissolution.

“We are glad that the football leadership has seen the light. This is a step in the right direction but the first in several steps that should be made if Zifa is to be deregistered,” said Muchechetere.

The SRC boss urged Zifa to engage its creditors.“Some of the creditors are corporates who have been sponsoring football and these are the same people that whatever new association will come to replace Zifa will run to seeking help. Do you think they will assist when they have been treated like this?

“Zifa should engage its creditors, who include the workers, and present their case. This habit of making wild statements has no place in such a delicate matter,” he said.

Pressed on a letter he is said to have written to Fifa a fortnight ago seemingly giving backing to Nafaz, the SRC acting director-general said the correspondence was meant “just to let Fifa know that we had begun the process of deregistering Zifa”.

“Deregistration is not a one-day process. Zifa came to us with their proposal, we wrote to Fifa advising that the process was about to begin. However, in the process of trying to strike off Zifa from our register we realised that their move to dissolve the organisation at meeting on June 4 was in violation of sections 71 of their constitution.

“We have since told Fifa that things were not done properly and have advised them that our football association will continue operating as Zifa …there is no Nafaz in terms of our statutes.”However, Muchechetere highlighted that the SRC would abide by whatever ruling the High Court made in a case in which Zifa is applying for voluntary sequestration.

“We are a law-abiding body and will stand guided by what the court rules. If it rules in favour of Zifa we will deregister the association and start the process the of registering a new one whether is Nafaz of whatever,” he said.The matter in which Zifa wants to be placed under voluntary sequestration was postponed to June 29 to allow the soccer governing body time to respond to a report filed by the Master of the High Court opposing the request.

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