Zimpapers Logo

Peter Dube

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
DISGRUNTLED Highlanders members were by yesterday just four signatures away from forcing an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) after 96 people appended their signatures to a petition demanding that the club’s executive steps down.

According to the Highlanders’ constitution, at least 100 paid up members may call for an EGM through a petition.

Article 17 of the Bosso constitution titled Extraordinary General Meeting, part 17.1 states that EGMs shall be held at any time to discuss any urgent matter.

Part 17.2 reads: “Members shall be entitled to at least seven days notice of such meeting, to which shall be attached an agenda for the meeting.”

Part 17.5 states: “At least 100 paid up members by petition, or a resolution of the executive committee or board of trustees may call such a meeting.”

One of those behind the petition Givemore Moyo said the major drive behind their action was the team’s poor performance that has seen Highlanders languishing in the bottom half of the league table for the better part of the season.

“It has been agony after agony this season and we said enough is enough. We realised that the biggest problem in all this was the executive led by Peter Dube, and waiting for 2018 for him to step down, to us was just too bitter a pill to swallow,” said Moyo.

He said they were not just a group of renegades out to cause mayhem at Highlanders, but were genuinely concerned members of the club, who could not stand by and watch as the club continued to deteriorate.

Part two of the petition reads: “Our constitution makes a provision for the executive committee that is tasked with the day-to-day operations of the club (and) it also makes provision for a board that will act in an advisory role. For the first time in the history of Bosso, we saw the board literally taking over the day-to-day running of the club. This disparity created two centres of power that can and never will be healthy for an institution like Highlanders. The board had to take over and interfere in issues to do with technical team contracts which are supposed to be the executive’s duties because they had realised the executive had become incompetent and bent on sinking Bosso. They (board) might have their part of the blame, but it is the executive that slept on duty thereby exposing other organs of power.”

As a signing off message, the petition calls on Highlanders’ members to come together and save what it says is a great institution.

“Let’s come out in numbers, sign the petition, attend the EGM and usher in a new committee to steer our ship forward. Saving our club is going to be difficult, but not impossible,” it reads.

The petition sponsors said their resolve to force an EGM was buoyed by last week’s call by long-time Bosso benefactor Tshinga Dube who penned an open letter, extensively published in the national Press, for the club’s executive to step down.