Governance, crushing debt in sharp focus on Highlanders’ AGM agenda

Innocent Kurira, Zimpapers Sports Hub

HIGHLANDERS FC members converge at the Club House in Bulawayo this Sunday for an Annual General Meeting that will be less about applause and more about survival, with governance reforms and a crushing debt burden sitting at the centre of the agenda.

The meeting comes days after Bosso confirmed that bona fide members can now access the club’s newly amended constitution, a document that will only be shared via email with members in good standing after identity verification.

“Highlanders is pleased to inform all members in good standing that the recently amended constitution is now finalised and available for distribution,” the club said in a statement. “To receive your digital copy, please submit a request via email. To ensure that this document is shared exclusively with members, we require specific details to verify your identity.” The announcement drags the constitution debate back into the spotlight, months after members endorsed the amendments at the 2025 AGM, a process framed as a clean up of Bosso’s governance and an attempt to match modern football administration standards.

One of the headline changes is the reshaping of the Chief Executive Officer’s authority. Under the new constitution, the CEO becomes head of the secretariat and the sole signatory for club affairs, replacing the old arrangement where key responsibilities were shared with the executive secretary.

That executive secretary role has since been rebranded as executive member for marketing, while the treasurer is now executive member for finance. The committee member post has also been renamed executive member for technical development, part of a broader restructuring meant to clarify roles and tighten accountability. Members also agreed that from 2027, all executive positions will be contested in a single election, with successful candidates serving four-year terms. It ends the staggered election system that split voting cycles for chairman, secretary and committee member from those for vice-chairman and treasurer, a model many felt created two centres of power inside the same administration.

The reforms also locked in tougher eligibility rules. There will be no refunds for unsuccessful candidates, and key office bearers, including the chairman, must be resident in Zimbabwe, a decision that narrows the pool but reflects the club’s insistence on hands on leadership.

Still, even with the paperwork signed off, the argument hasn’t died. Some members believe the structure still leaves the CEO exposed, expected to carry the heat without full control, because overlapping roles across the executive committee and board can still blur decision making and weaken corporate governance.

Away from the constitution, Sunday’s AGM is expected to be dominated by a financial crisis that refuses to loosen its grip. Highlanders are reportedly close to US$500 000 in debt, a figure that will sharpen questions from members who want hard numbers, timelines, and consequences for those who have been in charge. The strain has been most visible in the technical department, where unresolved obligations have repeatedly pushed the club towards legal trouble. Bosso only settled a US$11 000 debt to former coach Kelvin Kaindu in October, and disputes involving ex-coach Hendrik Pieter de Jongh and other technical staff still carry the risk of being dragged through Fifa channels.

At Emagumeni, the fear is not theoretical. Highlanders have lived through sanctions before, and the memory still sits uncomfortably with supporters who watched the club’s reputation take a hit. Only three years ago, Bosso were slapped with a Fifa transfer ban over a contractual dispute with Baltemar Brito, a crisis that ended only after businessman Wicknell Chivayo funded a US$26 000 settlement.

Now, with the club inching towards its centenary, members aren’t arriving for another round of speeches. They want proof that governance reforms can translate into clean decision making, controlled spending, and a Bosso that stops lurching from one crisis to the next.