The Sunday Mail
Petros Kausiyo
JUST three days after securing a major reprieve when FIFA threw their weight behind them in the face of disbandment, ZIFA were last night facing a fresh crisis with their financial accounts once again garnished, this time by former employee Lazarus Mhurushomana who is demanding over RTGS$124 million.
It has emerged that Mhurushomana, a long-serving administrator until his departure from the ZIFA headquarters at 53 Livingstone in 2004 has become the latest creditor to pounce on the association’s finances after Daisy Lodge and freelance photographer Lazarus Riva.
In the latest crisis to hit ZIFA and which by last night had literally paralysed the local football body’s operations, Mhurushomana, also wants to be paid in excess of US$35 000.
Mhurushomana secured a writ to attach the ZIFA funds which the association received from FIFA. The ZIFA account is lodged with Ecobank.
ZIFA president Felton Kamambo was naturally not amused and was last night questioning the timing of the move by Mhurushomana who was a senior administrative secretary during his time at the association.
Given the toxic environment in which domestic football is operating where personality and factional fights have pushed development of the flagship sport into the shade, Kamambo was left to genuinely believe that the move by some creditors to target any revenue going into the ZIFA coffers was a ploy to disrupt football in the country and grind it to a halt.
The ZIFA boss and his executive were left having to try and douse the flames that could engulf today’s Mighty Warriors international assignment and the Young Warriors’ trip to Johannesburg. “We had made arrangements that the Zambian women’s team look after us in Lusaka and we would reciprocate in Harare, we also have the Young Warriors squad that must travel to South Africa for the Under-23 AFCON qualifier as well as the match officials for the Mighty Warriors game and as ZIFA we need the money in order to fulfil these obligations. “Unfortunately we now have people targeting anything that comes our way and surely this is a deliberate ploy to paralyse the association,’’ Kamambo said.
The ZIFA boss said they had also been taken aback to note that some creditors had ignored their engagement efforts and instead sought to make a mockery of the game by either attaching property or garnishing the accounts.
Ironically the matter for which Mhurushomana secured his writ dates back to October 2013 when he first won his case against ZIFA.
Although he worked in the Zimbabwe dollar and well before the country had dollarised, Mhurushomana appears to have capitalised on ZIFA’s poor legal representation at the time and secured an arbitral award that even gave him US$200 telephone allowance and US$1 560 monthly salary.
“The Arbitration Award in favour of the Applicant handed down by T.R …..August 2005 and subsequently qualified by Honourable AJ Manase on 29 June 20… the sum of Z$124 710 000.00 and US$35 420 and subsequent sum of US$1 560 per month salary. US$200 per month telephone allowance and US$40 per week fuel allowance from 1 July 2010 to date when the parties have agreed on retirement package be and is hereby registered as judgement of the High Court of Zimbabwe,’’ reads part of the ruling originally issued in 2013.
In the writ that Mhurushomana secured, Ecobank were ordered to direct money to the former ZIFA senior employee.
“You are hereby instructed to deposit US$518 331.81 into the Sherriff’s FCA account from the following account numbers held in the name of ZIFA within 48 hours ….0181197610296101, 0181197610292102, 0181197610292103, 018119760292104. You are instructed to deposit the money with 48 hours into the following account: Judicial Service Commission CBZ Selous Branch 021229889600,’’ read part of the order. The latest setback to hit ZIFA comes just three days after FIFA dismissed a bid by the Sport and Recreation Commission to disband them and replace them with a normalisation committee. Crucially for ZIFA, FIFA acknowledged in their response to the SRC that the association was being weighed down by a debt legacy and revealed that they were working on strategies to assist their member overcome this huge challenge. ZIFA’s debt had ballooned to US$7 million by 2015 when they put a cap on the list of creditors and sent a copy of it to FIFA. “Finally, we would like to inform you that FIFA is engaged in assisting ZIFA with its debt servicing strategy. In this regard, we would like to underline that we remain at the authorities’ disposal to discuss, if possible, joint efforts to address ZIFA’s current financial situation.
“We thank you for taking note of the above and trust in your understanding,’’ wrote FIFA deputy secretary-general (administration) Alasdair Bell. But with ZIFA needing to ensure that today’s Olympic Games qualifier between the Mighty Warriors and Zambia’s She-polopolo goes ahead unhindered, the association will not doubt need the government’s hand to intervene and break the impasse.
There will be dire consequences on a generation of players if the Young Warriors were thrown out of the CAF Under-23 AFCON qualifiers and further banned from participating.
There will also be serious ramifications on the women’s game if the Mighty Warriors were also to be banished for failing to fulfil their Olympic Games while an embarrassing episode also awaits ZIOFA for failing to host so be
The Young Warriors who have a good chance of making a maiden appearance at the Under-23 with only South Africa now standing in the way of Tonderai Ndiraya’s men in a two-legged encounter.
