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Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
SUSPENDED Zifa vice-president Omega Sibanda yesterday revealed that his refusal to officially endorse acknowledgement of an $860,000 debt to the association’s boss and self-styled benefactor Cuthbert Dube led to their ugly fallout.

Sibanda was given the boot on Monday pending endorsement by the embattled Zifa assembly.

Board member Bernard Gwarada and leaders of the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Central regions Willard Manyengavana, Musa Mandaza, Piraishe Mabhena and Felton Kamambo were also purged as the domestic football controlling body was further plunged into chaos.

Sibanda said they fell afoul of Dube’s cabal by demanding rigorous control of Zifa spending and innovative debt management through good corporate governance.

He believes what irked Dube the most was when the suspended officials steadfastly refused to be part of “fraudulent activities” that sought to acknowledge and endorse Zifa’s indebtedness to its president from 2010.

He said they had demanded to be shown Zifa’s creditors’ list, which includes Dube, but were met with red flags on every occasion since 2014.

It is that tenacity to question the Zifa’s president’s loan to the association through chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze that triggered the fallout, Sibanda said.

“I’m not seeking sympathy at all but a lot has been happening that led to the fallout with the Zifa president. I couldn’t risk soiling my name by agreeing to the said amounts owed to Dube by Zifa because I never saw any paper trail to that effect,” Sibanda told Chronicle Sport.

He said they were shocked on Monday when minutes from the February 20, Zifa board meeting held at Cresta Oasis Hotel in Harare stated that they acknowledge Dube’s debt.

Article 6.2 of the minutes reads: “A formal resolution on loans advanced to Zifa since 2010 by the Zifa president and Buymore Company was approved and was to be signed, members agreed and Mr (Ralph) Maganga would draft it.”

Maganga is the Zifa legal advisor.

Sibanda vehemently denied assenting to the resolution, which he equated to an act of fraud since he has only been at Zifa for a year.

“Zifa is said to owe Dube about $860,000 backdating to 2010, but I wasn’t there when the bulk of that amount is said to have been advanced to the association. Even during my tenure, I don’t recall a single day when we discussed Dube’s loan, but shockingly there are minutes stating that a resolution to that effect was made. That’s tantamount to fraud. Imagine since last year we haven’t been shown the creditors’ list that we demanded,” Sibanda said.

He said Dube had also failed to produce a paper trail of the supposed loans he advanced to Zifa when asked at a meeting they held with the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) in February.

Fears abound that the mentioned figures could have been inflated as Dube’s cabal target Fifa grants.

Sibanda said it is worrisome that Dube’s critics are being targeted for simply demanding transparency.

“It’s a fact that there’s zero corporate governance at Zifa. Imagine Gwarada has been asking to have a look at Zifa finances since assuming office last year without any success.

“No audited finances have been done and you wonder what really is going on. What we’ve been advocating for is transparency and a clean image for the association. Without practising good corporate governance, it becomes extremely difficult to get support from the corporate world or government,” said Sibanda.

Although Sibanda admits that the board’s role is to formulate policies that are then implemented by the secretariat, Gwarada had a right to ask for Zifa’s books as the board member in charge of finance.

He said roles were not clearly defined at Zifa resulting in Mashingaidze running the association into its present mess.

Sibanda dismissed his suspension as a joke saying only the assembly that voted him into office could chuck him out.

He argued that Monday’s meeting that also claimed the scalps of Matabeleland North provincial chairman Dennis Tshuma and Northern Region secretary Sweeny Mushonga was unconstitutional.

Sibanda said according to Article 35.3 of the Zifa constitution, Dube, Tawengwa Hara and Fungai Chihuri were compromised and shouldn’t have participated in the suspension process.

“Any member of the Executive Committee must withdraw from the debate and from decisions if there is any risk or possibility of a conflict of interest,” reads Article 35.3.

Dube, Hara and Chihuri were compromised after Zifa councillors met last month in Harare and agreed to suspend the trio.

Sibanda feels that the trio was motivated by vengeance.

He said even the agenda of the extraordinary Zifa board meeting had been changed.

“Remember the board meeting was initially set for March but it was postponed. Mashingaidze changed the agenda, which isn’t proper because the things we were meant to discuss are the Zifa debt, 2015 business plan, national teams’ assignments and to come up with resolutions. However, the CEO added the suspension of members and recent Fifa trip to the agenda. The 2015 business plan was scrapped off the agenda and this goes on to show how shabbily the association is run,” said Sibanda.