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THE leaked ZIFA forensic audit report which unearthed massive financial irregularities at the association makes a sad reading.
Of course, it is early to come to conclusions since the final report is still being worked on but the wild response by the lawyers representing some of the former ZIFA board members could give to the contents of the said draft report.
Pointers from that leaked report, which has been doing rounds on social media platforms this week, portray a bad outlook on how our football has been governed over the last few years.
There are indications of massive looting of resources.
The transactions that were done by the ZIFA board flouted corporate governance tenets and showed that the management of funds at the association was done in a haphazard manner without board consultations.
As a result, there could be huge financial prejudices to the association. The draft forensic audit report covers the period between 1st December, 2018 to 30th November, 2021.
So, this could just be a tip of the iceberg.
No one has officially been found on the wrong side at the moment but it appears some individuals have cashed in on the association’s funds on the pretext that ZIFA is a “private organisation, of an associate nature” hence no one should point out or act on the wrongs being perpetrated.
All previous ZIFA presidents who faced reprimand or were caught with fingers in the cookie jar have been quick to raise the defence that FIFA do not allow “third-party interference” and that Zimbabwe can be disqualified.
This cheap line of defence has been used over and over again and it has created a safe haven for cartels to help themselves to the funds meant for national teams and football development.
There are no firm measures for financial accountability at ZIFA and it is usually difficult to trace movement of resources, whether they be in cash or in kind.
FIFA grants could easily get abused with no trace.
Apart from the funds received from multiple sources, equipment meant for grassroots football, women football referees, five-aside and beach soccer has reportedly been diverted in the past.
The auditing firm also noted that the association’s accounting method was skewed, making it difficult to trace some of the transactions.
If this is true, then it’s total chaos. While it is prudent to wait for the final report, this draft forensic audit report, that has been linked to BDO Chartered Accountants as the authors, could just be a tip of the iceberg.
Already, some members who were recently ousted from the ZIFA board at the Congress held in April this year, have already started a campaign to rubbish the forensic audit before the final report is made public.
The same members have been accused of refusing to cooperate with the auditing firm during the process. Hopefully, no evidence has been tampered with or destroyed.
Although the official audit report is still to be made public, the leaked document looks dead right on the suspicions that many Zimbabweans have had over the ZIFA finances.
This somehow justifies why the Sports Commission had to act by suspending the ZIFA board last November to pave way for such an important exercise.
The interventions by the Sports Commission however have attracted ZIFA’s suspension by FIFA who ruled there was third party interference. But as Zimbabwe, we know our challenges, some of which are now coming to the fore, hence the need for thorough cleaning of our football administration.
Recently former referees’ secretary Obert Zhoya was fined and banned five years by FIFA after he was convicted in the charges of sexual harassment of female referees.
Corruption had become so endemic in Zimbabwe football administration that even the officials would have been accused of bribing their way into office.
A case in point is that of the ousted ZIFA president Felton Kamambo who is currently battling to clear his name at the Harare Magistrates courts after he was accused of vote-buying in the December 2018 ballot that brought him into office.
There is still a long way but what is clear is that for Zimbabwe to achieve success in football, the bad apples need to be eliminated.
Those that are found on the wrong side should leave the game for good and face the music.
Online Reporter