Zifa, Banda impasse
Councillors tell Kamambo to stamp his authority
SOME Zifa councillors have reportedly told association president Felton Kamambo to stamp his authority by reining in one member of his executive committee who wants to capture the association.
The councillors, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ongoing impasse between the association and its vice-president Gift Banda was presenting a negative picture of the organisation and it’s embarrassing that all executive committee members except one individual know that the Bulawayo businessman is innocent.
They pointed out that the board member (name supplied) feared that Banda will insist on a forensic audit, hence the spirited efforts to shut him out despite twice winning his disciplinary case.
“Look, everyone now sees who the snake within the executive committee is. This man is power hungry and corrupt. He has a certain group of councillors who will kill for him and are doing everything possible to ascertain their grip, especially as we move closer to the 2022 elections where together with another of his blue-eyed guys are eyeing the Zifa presidency and vice-presidency.
“Kamambo must just read the riot act to this guy and let him know who the boss is. His failure to do so will be a monumental mistake,” said one councillor.
Another councillor warned that soon tables might turn and something similar to what happened to Cuthbert Dube can be executed. “The president must know that he is the boss. In fact, we wonder why he seems to be afraid of certain decisions or maybe he is already captured and therefore not his own man. People voted for him in 2018 and he therefore must not disappoint.
“Some people within his executive are already in campaign mode and the more the name of the association is dragged into the mud, the more his (Kamambo) image also gets dirty yet he won’t be responsible for that.
“We are aware that he is not happy with what is happening to Banda and has said it that he has no problems working with him, but words without action mean nothing,” said the councillor.
The councillor said while it was commendable that inroads were being made in clearing the association’s legacy debt, they hoped the process was being done in a legal and transparent manner.
“We have no tangible proof now, but we hear that the arrangement with the creditors was to be paid at an agreed rate of 1:40 when the official rate was 1:25, but allegations are that the money was being changed at 1:55 or even more and your guess as to where the difference was going is as good as mine. We, however, pray and hope these allegations are not true,” he said.