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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
Most organisations that supplied goods before and during the sixth edition of the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Under-20 Youth Games are yet to be paid.

The companies have appealed to the government to speed up payment.

Chronicle Sport understands that the local organising committee of the Games that were held in December last year here in Bulawayo owes service and goods providers as well as support staff more than $500,000.

Some suppliers who spoke to Chronicle say they were failing to replenish their stocks due to lack of funds.

“We understand fully that those were national Games and as indigenous companies we gladly got onto the bandwagon after assurances that we’d be paid but little did we know that it’ll take this long,” said an official from one of the suppliers who said they were owed in excess of $150,000.

Board members and other senior officials in the local organising committee had flashy Samsung S5 mobile phones which cost at least $600 bought for them on credit through a local dealer.

The dealer is yet to be paid.

Two weeks ago, the chairperson of the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Council of Ministers and Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Andrew Langa told a Press conference that all service providers and suppliers will be paid their dues but declined to say when.

“We’ll ensure that all those who were engaged in the provision of services and goods as well as support staff engaged by the local organising committee are paid,” said Minister Langa.

He told members of the media that a meeting had been arranged with the treasury to work on the modalities of releasing funds.

Efforts to get hold of Minister Langa were fruitless as his mobile phone has been unreachable since Friday while his permanent secretary Thokozile Chitepo’s mobile phone rang continuously but was not being answered.