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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, [email protected]

In 2018, a proposed draft constitution for Highlanders Football Club, written by fundis with different expertise but were card carrying members, was rejected by the membership for various reasons which still remain obscure.

Nothing concrete was proffered as the reason for that rejection except that members who attended that mid year review meeting said “no” to it. Suggestions on the way forward were given but one could see that some people were just not comfortable with that document.

Had that document been adopted, which sought to align the club with the Fifa club licensing, the posts of club executive vice chairperson and secretary would have been abolished with the club led by a chairperson and four directors who would have been given various portfolios based on their expertise as well. Also set to have been abolished was the board of directors who were to be replaced by a cultural body known as a Council of Elders.

Article 10.2 of the rejected draft read: “The Council of Elders shall consist of club president and six other elders with 30 years membership to the club. Except for the club president, the other elders shall serve for a period of 10 years and should be between the age of 60 to 70 years with a proven 30 plus years membership and service to the club.” 

Article 10.3 further states that the Council of Elders shall be responsible for the passing on of the club’s values and ethos to the next generation of club administrators. Other key constitutional changes included the issue of membership that would have seen the club adopting three types of voluntary membership where all life and ordinary card carrying members would now fall under the special virtual branch and would be given a year from the date of passing of the constitution to register under the branch. 

Conventional branch based membership would come after the Nomination Electoral Review Committee and the Standing Committee would come up with demographic delimitation guidelines for the establishment of official club branches. 

Another key issue is the congress, which would  be held over two days and would be made up of members drawn from the special virtual branch and all official branches. In all it’s intent, that document would have saved the club from a number of problems including the issue of division among members, which always emerges whenever there are elections, particularly those of the club chairmanship like this year.

As if there is some form of financial benefits, the election season is full of toxicity with friends becoming foes and its effects are even felt in other institutions such as the media. Accusations and counter accusations of one belonging to this camp fly from one end to the other, yet this is totally unnecessary.

The board has not helped matters as some of them, instead of playing an oversight role, have actually become key actors, taking sides with certain candidates. 

The reason for this perhaps is that most of the crop in this arm of the club are young and easily get excited and end up going with the wind. 

If that document crafted by Daniel Molokele, Innocent Batsani Ncube, Elkanah Dube, Nhlanhla Dube, Andrew Tapela and Donald Ndebele had been adopted, all these issues would not be.

As members meet on Sunday for their annual general meeting (AGM), they must make sure they interrogate the constitution matter vigorously and with the club, not individuals at heart. The document that currently subsists needs a complete overhaul, it is now archaic and needs a new breath of fresh air.

 

Articles like 7.8 must be done away with because it still gives power to the executive to run the affairs of the club such as hiring, suspending and even firing the technical team. This is supposed to be the job of the secretariat, led by the chief executive officer.

As it is, the chief executive officer is just a ceremonial post yet the club is paying him a salary every month.

It has also been said that Highlanders must try and infuse certain elements of the Barcelona model of running a football club. 

Members must seriously consider the membership model — does it bring any value to both the member and the club?

Members are the lifeline of any institution but for Highlanders, membership is contributing to its death.

Anyone can become a member after paying the pittance being charged and then attend key club functions such as an AGM and elections, all because that person is a member.

AGMs and leadership elections are not kids’ play, these must be handled by individuals who are willing to sacrifice resources to make sure the club remains afloat.

It’s high time a criterion is put in place on who attends meetings, who votes and who can be voted into office.  It must not be a wonke wonke kind of setup.

To do this, the constitution must be tolerant to that and secondly membership amounts should also be reviewed to say those who want to be life members and also attend meetings as well as vote and be eligible to be voted into office, must pay a once off fee of say US$2 000. These are the people who will then qualify to make decisions for the club because they would have demonstrated their preparedness beyond doubt. These people will be the electoral college. Other members can then be allowed to attend the AGM without the power to vote or be voted into office.

Tomorrow, members have an opportunity to sync the club constitution with the realities and developments that continue taking place in the field of sports in general and football in particular.  Bosso has always led in sports governance in this country, that position is not in dispute at all. 

However, it is unbelievable that Highlanders, established in 1926, only has seven league championship medals, winning the first one in 1990, exactly 64 years from it’s formation. The last title was won in 2006, close to two decades ago.

This is appalling, embarrassing if not an insult to the founding fathers. These dark but real statistics, while some may be unavoidable, are largely self inflicted in more ways than one.

Self-inflicted by failure to change and move with the changing times but choosing to remain stagnant through embracing an ostrich mentality by burying the head underground while the whole body is in the full glare of foes.

Continues on www.chronicle.co.zw

Having a present day constitution will also crack open the team’s massive value chain as competent personnel, as the executive to the secretariat will be elected and hired, unlike now where anyone, as long as they carry a membership card is eligible.

We are seeing people who bought their cards in 2021 running for public office.

It is time to throw away self interest and put Highlanders first. The 2018 document was rejected because of self interest and the result of that was continued suffering of the club while members continued bickering over petty issues.

It is unfortunate that the issue of the constitution was put as item number 7 on tomorrow’s agenda, another classic example that some people in the leadership structure are not giving this crucial matter the respect it deserves. To them, it’s just another agenda item yet this is where the survival of the club lies. The constitution matter is in fact more important than the chairman’s obvious report, let alone that of the board.

Bosso must simply reform or be prepared to face a painful demise, something which will be so devastating and calamitous to its legion of fans globally.

Members have a penalty-like opportunity tomorrow to guarantee the survival of this massive institution by taking a bold move to overhaul the Highlanders Football Club constitution.