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Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter

THE ZIFA Extraordinary General Meeting is set to be held this Saturday at the PHD Complex in Harare following reports ZIFA will receive the official audit tomorrow. ZIFA

The EGM will accord the ZIFA Assembly time to deliberate on the forensic audit report that was done by BDO Chartered Accountants.

The audit report that was leaked a week ago showed the extent of the rot that was happening at ZIFA before the Sports Commission intervened by suspending the ZIFA board.

This is the first time that councillors are having a chance, as a Congress, to interrogate allegations of financial impropriety by the Felton Kamambo-led executive.

Acting ZIFA chief executive, Xolisani Gwesela, while not giving away much, confirmed that they were due to receive the forensic audit report, which they would immediately circulate to members ahead of Saturday’s indaba.

Gwesela said he feared that discussing much on the EGM could be tantamount to pre-emptying the resolutions that the councillors will come up with.

This is, however, the first time that the ZIFA congress is convening after their April 23 meeting at which they unanimously agreed to revoke the mandates of Kamambo, Philemon Machana and Bryton Malandule.

The ZIFA congress also declined to endorse the co-option of Stanley Chapeta onto the ZIFA board.

Gwesela, however, rubbished suggestions by the Kamambo faction that Saturday’s EGM will be an illegal gathering.

“The Congress is the ultimate authority; whatever decisions they make are binding.

“Yes, ZIFA is suspended by FIFA but our constitution is not suspended and Congress are free to meet and make resolutions for the best interest of football.

“And this meeting is one such where Congress are taking a constitutional responsibility as you are aware that football operates in terms of the ZIFA constitution which is lodged with FIFA and the SRC,’’ Gwesela said.

According to a draft forensic audit that was leaked before its official announcement by the Restructuring Committee and the Sports Commission, the report has shown gross mismanagement and unearthed a number of irregularities in the way financial transactions were done by the Kamambo-led executive.

Some of the questionable transactions that are contained in that report are how the board members were each awarded at least US$15 500 as administration fees at a time football clubs were struggling at the height of the Covid-19 era. Interestingly, the clubs received a pittance in local currency as a Covid-19 bailout package.

The ZIFA board members were paid a total of US$100 000 as budget–line item administration. Kamambo received US$20 000 while his vice Philemon Machana received US$18 000. The other four board members — Farai Jere, Bryton Malandule, Sugar Chagonda and Barbara Chikosi — received US$15 500 each.

Other disturbing transactions include transactions on how the association received loans from a company owned by the former vice-president Machana.

These loans were further repaid without paperwork supporting the so-called debts or ratifications from the ZIFA board approving those loans.

Saturday’s indaba is expected to adopt the findings of the forensic audit that will form the basis of the implementation matrix.