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Tandazani Zimbwa
The recent decline of football at Highlanders cannot go unnoticed and it’s true that when Bosso limp the rest of the league feels it.
With just one win from eight games, Highlanders just have to turn the corner lest they find themselves in serious danger of relegation. That is unthinkable, but the figures on the log table are already confirming those that will survive. What is going wrong at Bosso?
There have been so many theories but in my view, there is a a leadership crisis. For a big institution like Highlanders, one that commands support across racial and tribal divide, you need a unifying character at the helm to bring together the Bosso family in order to drive the brand forward. Fragmented, as Highlanders is today, the team can only sink deeper and everybody knows it.
But for some strange reason, divisive tactics seem to have taken grip at Bosso and you need not look further than the team’s executive to establish a serious rift from oneness that is required to create a formidable Bosso.
If the fish degenerates at its head, pretty soon expect the body to decompose and is it strange that Highlanders are not performing on the pitch? Never mind coach Madinda Ndlovu’s ECD project. It’s secondary to the fulcrum of the matter, the pith of which lies in the board room squabbles.
At the centre of those is, Nhlanhla Bahlangane Dube, the CEO whose contractual issues have torn the Bosso family to pieces. With the Highlanders executive unanimous that Dube’s contract should not be extended, rumour is corridors then whispered Dube’s intention to sue Bosso for not advising him on their intentions as per the country’s labour laws. His personal contract is, however, silent on what should be done if it is not extended, sources said.
How does the same man who claims black and white blood wake up to take the same team to court because its leadership is unsatisfied with his performance? It sounds far-fetched, and I hope there is no truth to such corridor talk.
And I believe it is not true that the ignition of current boardroom squabbles was fear of litigation and had Dube not threatened the same, the elephant in the room wouldn’t exist. Dube of all people, is well placed to know about the crippling debt at the club and taking Bosso to court can never be a demonstration of love for the club.
I have worked with so many chairmen of Highlanders and the incumbent, Kenneth Mhlophe is no exception. I was part of his campaign team when he took on Modern Ngwenya for the vice chairman’s post and I can tell you Rtd Col Mhlophe was a very pleasant character to work with.
There is no question about his love for Highlanders. He has made immense contribution through personal resources and I’m glad that somehow, the post he holds, even though by default (after his challenger was disqualified for the chairmanship race), may come as a token of gratitude to his benevolence. When as a campaign team we lost to Ngwenya, I congratulated Ngwenya for what those who own the club had chosen.
There was no choice but to bury the hatchet, harness all our efforts together and build a better Bosso. Who was I to go against the wishes of the majority.
Actually it has turned out that Ngwenya is a favourite when it comes to Bosso members as he has romped himself to a second term, the latest with even a bigger margin in the ballot. It was at a time when some hawks within the Bosso system, very poisonous elements who preach love during day and sow hatred at night suggest that whatever involves Ngwenya, I should not partake in. But that would be tantamount to sabotage.
We can’t help the club by undermining an official elected by members because, in essence, that’s destroying the club. Yikho ukuyibulala ke khonokho.
In 2016 when Ngwenya was acting chairman we put our heads together and assisted the team for a pre-season camp in Polokwane, South Africa.
Even this year the same sponsors showed interest but simply because there are links to a particular executive member it died a natural death. What became of this year’s pre-season is now history, but what is current is the team’s position on the log.
Talk of boardroom personalities taking their toll on the team.
My heart bleeds for the gentleman that the Highlanders chairman is, and it would seem the alleged capture of his office by some answers a lot of questions for decisions hardly consistent with him.
How do you explain that the same gentleman who always had an ear for all is the same character that now follows employees who exit a WhatsApp group formed to cut costs and ease means of communication in the club? As if that was not enough, some crucial meetings are skipped by some key characters for no reason, and nothing happens.
There is now a pattern of which characters are absent at the same time and who is present at the same time.
The recent suspensions of Ngwenya and secretary, Israel Moyo, shows how the centre cannot hold. We now see senior members of the club involved in arguments and physical clashes with supporters and members in public.
And of course, there is a simmering court battle over some contracts with some service providers. The drama is far from over.
Online Reporter