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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE failure by Zimbabwe to qualify for the Cricket World Cup 2019 was not a failure by the national team but instead was the culmination of years of mismanagement, Zvishavane Senator, Mrs Lillian Timveous said.

Contributing to a motion on the corruption allegations levelled against the Zimbabwe Cricket Board Senator Timveos called for a forensic audit of the Zimbabwe Cricket Board funds which will be overseen by representatives from the International Cricket Council.

“This debate is intended to create awareness and inform this august House of the true state of cricket in Zimbabwe and the urgent need for action to be taken. Mr President, Zimbabwe is losing players on a regular basis and if action is not taken soon, it is likely that many of our country chevrons and other factor players will seek more attractive opportunities and leave the game in Zimbabwe forever, which some have already done.

In order to understand the issues and problems that face cricket today, it is crucial that one simple undisputable fact is brought to the forefront of this debate. This fact is simple because cricket in Zimbabwe was a successful vibrant, crucial and financially sound entity that brought pride and honour to Zimbabwe as a nation prior to 2004. This cannot be argued. Our national team played the full test programme around the world and had twice gone past the group stages at the World Cup finals into the super six stages,” said Sen Timveos.

She said Club Cricket in Zimbabwe was in a complete and utter mess with the ZC administration unable to even start League Cricket in three out of five main provinces.

“ZC has chosen to start League Cricket in Harare and Bulawayo in November. They claim this decision was made after consultation with their South African Consultant, Vince Van Der Bijl but in reality it is simply because ZC still does not have enough money to actually meet legitimate expenses involved in League Cricket. Zimbabwe Cricket has proudly advised the nation that it has resolved its financial crisis yet it cannot afford to pay for cricket balls to allow League Cricket to take place. In Bulawayo, it provides one cricket ball for two teams to play with, and it cannot afford to repair rotting facilities or pay groundsmen owed money from 2015.

The fault for this decline lies squarely at the feet of the persons who have led the national organisation over the last 14 years. The horrendously poor administration lack of knowledge, financial mismanagement and very obvious lack of responsible governance is the root cause of the current state of the game in Zimbabwe,” said Sen Timveos. She said a bailout plan would not have been necessary if Zimbabwe Cricket had correctly used the funds supplied by the ICC in 2012 to retire the Met Bank overdraft but Instead of retiring the Met Bank overdraft, the funds were instead placed in another Met bank account allegedly benefiting the board that was led by Ozias Bvute.

“It should be noted that Bvute was the managing director of ZC at the time as well as a director of Met Bank. The chairman of ZC at the time was Peter Chingoka who was also a Met Bank director and the current chairman, Tawengwa Mukuhlani was a ZC Board member at the time. The ICC complained at the incorrect use of the funds supplied and eventually the original Met bank overdraft was retired, but only after Zimbabwe Cricket was prejudiced of more than $600 000.

The financial mismanagement is astounding over the period 2004-2018. Zimbabwe Cricket could have easily moved the local liability offshore with the support of the ICC to access far lower and less punitive interest rates. Instead, it chose to remain indebted to local banks. Please note that they allegedly chose to remain with Met Bank specifically to benefit the board members because a comparison with other banks would clearly show that Met Bank offered one of the highest interest rates on loans and much a lower rate on investment.

Due diligence was thrown out of the window because of the fact that board members of ZC were also board members of Met Bank. The issues of conflict of interest were not even considered when entering into a relationship,” said Sen Timveos.

She said deliberate financial mismanagement is the root cause of the decline in Zimbabwe Cricket and remains a major issue facing the game to this day.

“A second and equally glaring issue currently affecting cricket in Zimbabwe is the fact that the national organisation is largely devoid of any actual cricket expertise.

Not a single board director has ever played first class or international cricket. The management of the national body are also largely without cricket experience. This lack of knowledge and experience is apparent through the continued poor decision making that this body has become famous for.

The national organisation has deliberately and systematically forced anyone with experience in the game as either a player or administrator out of the game. With a proud history in the game, ZC should be full of individuals with massive experience who are respected by the International Community. The list of persons who have been forced out of Zimbabwe Cricket is astounding and too long to list,” said Sen Timveos.

She said Mukuhlani, who has been at the helm of the ZC leadership from 2015 can not therefore be part of the solutions to the problems bedevilling the game at the moment.

“The list of clubs that have folded or disappeared since his involvement is long. There is no doubt that ZC will point to their list of registered clubs as a sign that cricket is healthy. However, when one takes into account that most of these clubs have no home grounds and no access to practice facilities then the true picture of the Zimbabwe Cricket landscape comes into focus,” said the Senator.