Zimpapers Logo

Jonathan Mashingaidze

Harare Bureau
ZIFA are set to lose their offices in Bulawayo and a house in Harare after their creditors LED Car Hire were given the greenlight by the High Court to move in and attach the properties over a long-standing debt.

The domestic football mother body were yesterday making frantic efforts to save the properties after the creditors targeted the houses in an effort to recover over $90,000 owed by the cash-strapped association.

LED Car Hire is owned by former Zifa board member Ben Gwarada. The debt emanated from an agreement between Zifa and LED Car Hire for the company to borrow money from two banks on behalf of the association to finance the Warriors’ Fifa 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.

The loans were to cover the cost of air tickets, with the Zifa Trust underwriting the transaction and the former chairman of the Trust Tshinga Dube providing the security.

But the company has lost faith in the association after several attempts to have Zifa settle the debts failed.

Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze said the association acknowledged the debt and are making plans to engage the creditors.

“As an association, we have always been open to engagement with all our creditors and I can confirm that we have instructed our lawyers to engage the lawyers of the creditors. So I can’t say much at the moment because the issue is being handled by the lawyers,” said Mashingaidze.

He acknowledged in writing in December 2014 that they owed LED a total of $90,306,04 and had undertaken to start servicing the debt by January of this year.

“The Zimbabwe Football Association wishes to acknowledge the above debt made up as follows: (1) $32,118,96 owed to LED Travel and Tours for facility offered to the company by FBC Bank on behalf of the Zimbabwe Football Association and (2) $58,187,08 owed to LED Travel and Tours for facility offered to the company by BancABC on behalf of the Zimbabwe Football Association.

“The association undertakes to commence servicing the amount with effect from 31st January 2015,” wrote Mashingaidze then.

However, the poor financial standing of Zifa and the demands by the national teams to meet their commitments in various competitions this year have not made it possible, resulting in the company seeking redress at the courts by attaching the association’s property.

The house in Harare is leased to tenants while the Bulawayo property is used as the Zifa Southern Region offices. This is not the first time the regional office in Bulawayo has come under threat of being attached. It was saved from the hammer this year at the last minute over a $1.5 million debt owed to CBZ Bank Limited.

Zifa Southern Region chairman Musa Mandaza said the picture was not looking good and appealed to LED Car Hire to give the association more time.

Mandaza said the Southern Region headquarters had suffered the brunt of Zifa’s huge debts.

“We have been told that the property is now under the High Court, but everything is being handled by the chief executive officer, who has indicated that they have engaged the lawyers representing LED Car hire,” said Mandaza.

“We understand they are working on a plan and hopefully a favourable solution will be found. It will be a sad day for football in the Southern Region if these properties are to be auctioned.