Sports / Soccer
ZIFA's Jonathan Mashingaidze at the centre of a scam
20 Jun 2015 at 14:00hrs | Views
ZIFA chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze is at the centre of a scam in which he borrowed substantial sums of money and sports equipment from clubs, Regions and shops on the pretext that the funds and material were meant for the association and national teams, the Herald reported.
The funds were not channelled into the association's coffers as shown by the audited ZIFA financial statements released by the country's football governing body, given that they should have either been reflected as income or as part of the debt owed by ZIFA since they were not paid back.
The latest revelations come at a time when gross irregularities have been unearthed, in the budget prepared by the ZIFA Secretariat for the Government to foot the national teams' commitments, with highly-inflated figures dominating the budget.
According to the budget, ZIFA need a staggering $60 000 to fly the Warriors to the Comoros for a CHAN qualifier, while the budget for the team's airfares to South Africa for an Olympic Games qualifier has been set at $30 000, which makes the average ticket prize to Johannesburg for every individual on the delegation at more than $1 000.
The budget for the Comoros accommodation in Zimbabwe for this weekend's CHAN qualifier was set at $35 000, while in each of the international matches, whether at home or away, ZIFA needed the Government to pay an average of $9 430 in administration fees.
The budget for the men's national teams was a staggering $664 000 and both the ZIFA Finance Committee and the Government slammed these highly-inflated figures, with Washington Mehlomakhulu, the ZIFA Finance Committee vice-chairman, saying they were not part of the exercise to come up with the budget.
Yesterday, Mashingaidze reacted to Mehlomakhulu's statement, which was carried on ZBC News, by suspending the ZIFA Finance Committee, the latest raft of suspensions at 53 Livingstone Avenue, which started with the suspension of 14 ZIFA councillors on Monday.
Sport, Arts and Culture Deputy Minister Thabetha Kanengoni-Malinga said the level of financial dishonesty rampant at ZIFA today had reached alarming levels.
herald
Mrs Chiwenga's motorcade cases havoc
Residents of Harare's Eastlea low density suburb are fearing for the lives of their children who are at risk of being knocked down by a high-speed motorcade.
The speeding convoy accompanies Mary, the new wife of Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander Constantine Chiwenga. She travels to the area daily, where she runs a beauty pageant business and traveling agency - Miss Zimbabwe Trust and La Roche Travel.
The speed limit in residential areas is 10 kms/hour but residents complain that Mary's speed exceeds the required limit - especially along Boundary Road. They have requested that speed humps be built to slow down the speeding convoy as the existing road signs are not being obeyed by the soldiers who drive the vehicles. The motorcade includes a Range Rover and Mercedes Benz E-class.
Residents told The Zimbabwean they were even afraid to approach Mrs Chiwenga with their concerns as she was always accompanied by armed members of the Zimbabwe National Army.
"The two cars move at such a high speed and imagine one day they will run over our children," said Mr Masenyama a resident. "Honestly how can one travel at above 120 kms per hour in a residential area where kids play? We have children cycling or playing games and they are at risk of being run over," added another resident, Mrs Charinga.
The funds were not channelled into the association's coffers as shown by the audited ZIFA financial statements released by the country's football governing body, given that they should have either been reflected as income or as part of the debt owed by ZIFA since they were not paid back.
The latest revelations come at a time when gross irregularities have been unearthed, in the budget prepared by the ZIFA Secretariat for the Government to foot the national teams' commitments, with highly-inflated figures dominating the budget.
According to the budget, ZIFA need a staggering $60 000 to fly the Warriors to the Comoros for a CHAN qualifier, while the budget for the team's airfares to South Africa for an Olympic Games qualifier has been set at $30 000, which makes the average ticket prize to Johannesburg for every individual on the delegation at more than $1 000.
The budget for the Comoros accommodation in Zimbabwe for this weekend's CHAN qualifier was set at $35 000, while in each of the international matches, whether at home or away, ZIFA needed the Government to pay an average of $9 430 in administration fees.
The budget for the men's national teams was a staggering $664 000 and both the ZIFA Finance Committee and the Government slammed these highly-inflated figures, with Washington Mehlomakhulu, the ZIFA Finance Committee vice-chairman, saying they were not part of the exercise to come up with the budget.
Yesterday, Mashingaidze reacted to Mehlomakhulu's statement, which was carried on ZBC News, by suspending the ZIFA Finance Committee, the latest raft of suspensions at 53 Livingstone Avenue, which started with the suspension of 14 ZIFA councillors on Monday.
Sport, Arts and Culture Deputy Minister Thabetha Kanengoni-Malinga said the level of financial dishonesty rampant at ZIFA today had reached alarming levels.
herald
Mrs Chiwenga's motorcade cases havoc
Residents of Harare's Eastlea low density suburb are fearing for the lives of their children who are at risk of being knocked down by a high-speed motorcade.
The speeding convoy accompanies Mary, the new wife of Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander Constantine Chiwenga. She travels to the area daily, where she runs a beauty pageant business and traveling agency - Miss Zimbabwe Trust and La Roche Travel.
The speed limit in residential areas is 10 kms/hour but residents complain that Mary's speed exceeds the required limit - especially along Boundary Road. They have requested that speed humps be built to slow down the speeding convoy as the existing road signs are not being obeyed by the soldiers who drive the vehicles. The motorcade includes a Range Rover and Mercedes Benz E-class.
Residents told The Zimbabwean they were even afraid to approach Mrs Chiwenga with their concerns as she was always accompanied by armed members of the Zimbabwe National Army.
"The two cars move at such a high speed and imagine one day they will run over our children," said Mr Masenyama a resident. "Honestly how can one travel at above 120 kms per hour in a residential area where kids play? We have children cycling or playing games and they are at risk of being run over," added another resident, Mrs Charinga.
Source - chronicle
