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Sports, Arts and Culture Andrew Langa

Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
government will not be swayed by emotions to jump into dissolving the Cuthbert Dube led Zifa board, Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Andrew Langa has said.Minister Langa said such a decision will only be taken when all conflict resolution systems have been exhausted and necessary consultations done. That route, Minister Langa said, starts today when the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC) meet the entire Zifa board in a no holds barred meeting whose outcome will be presented to Minister Langa.

The meeting is at the instigation of Minister Langa who tasked the country’s supreme sports body to try and find solutions to the problems at Zifa, which include in-fighting within the board, the challenges the game is facing and the concerns raised by a football pressure group called the Lifelong Footballers’ Trust of Zimbabwe fronted by Francis Zimunya.

“It is only after the SRC report that government, through my Ministry can take decisive action on that board. If it recommends that we dissolve the Zifa board, I’ll do that regardless of what Fifa will say but to just wake up and say we are dissolving Zifa is not the way to go and to that I am saying no,” said Minister Langa in sharp contrast to what his deputy Thabeth Kanengoni-Malinga told Parliament on Wednesday.

She said government will not hesitate to dissolve the Zifa board.

World football motherbody Fifa does not take kindly to government interference in the running of football with such acts attracting a suspension or ban from international football. The trend has also been that after the three-year ban, the banned regime returns to power until new elections are held.

“The problems at Zifa are there for everyone to see and I am particularly concerned by the in-house squabbles in that board, the petitions coming from those who say they are concerned about the state of our football. It’s true things are not right there but as government we cannot then be driven by emotions, certainly not.

“We’ll use all the available machinery and organs and if that fails and we feel that the differences are just but irreconcilable, then we can take that decision of saying enough is enough can you please go. Many factors are probably contributing to that and even us as government we need to do an introspection,” said Minister Langa.

Dube has decried lack of government support on national teams as the major reasons why representative national sides have fared badly in their assignments.

Minister Langa seemed to concur with the embattled Harare businessman, revealing that his Ministry only got $100,000 from treasury to distribute to all the national associations but he decided to give $78,000 to Zifa because football was a flagship sport in the country.

However despite the financial support that Dube has been crying out loud for, he personally has failed to give moral support to the senior national team attending only one Warriors match since 2010, the 0-3 loss to the mighty Brazilians at the giant National Sports Stadium.

Since then there has been 47 international matches for the Warriors which the Zifa president has conveniently failed to attend.

Meanwhile, service providers and support staff for the December African Union Sports Council Region 5 Under-20 Youth Games are likely to start receiving their payments next week with the sports ministry saying the government is busy mobilising funds for the purpose.

Minister Langa said he met the treasury last week as promised and assurances were made that resource mobilisation was already underway as the government remained committed to fulfil its promise of paying up.

“I want to sincerely apologise on behalf of the government and indeed my ministry for the delays in paying our service providers and support staff. However, as promised last time, we are still committed to honouring that pledge and everyone will get what is due to them,” said Minister Langa. “I met treasury last week and they told me that they were already busy mobilising funds and by next week, we should know what has been put together and start paying. As promised again, everyone will be paid, no need to panic, everything is on course.”

The local organising committee is believed to owe over $500,000 with some of its creditors last week saying they were facing serious liquidity problems that saw them failing to replenish their stocks while some support staff members are reeling in serious debt after using their personal funds to make phone calls as well transport money from June last year.

Meanwhile, sources within the local organising committee said some executive members recently refused to append their signatures on an order form for some bunk beds, arguing that he was not there when the initial order was made.

“The procedure is that all executive members sign before delivery and even payment but in this case beds had already been delivered seemingly without the initial approval of everyone,” said the source.