Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
WHEN CAPS United announced a multi-million-dollar partnership with a little-known financial institution called Green Dollar Coin in September, fans thought it was the lifeline the Harare giants had long waited for.
A US$4.3 million sponsorship package, complete with promises of new buses, improved player welfare, and youth development, sounded too good to be true.
Just a month later, it might be exactly that.
Green Dollar Coin’s Harare office has gone silent.
Thirty former employees say they were dismissed without pay, while others claim they were paid only once in Bitcoins, not US dollars as promised.
Documents seen by Zimpapers Sports Hub show that workers in the Digital Marketing and Data Capturing departments were on short-term contracts, earning between US$450 and US$570 per month. Street marketers were to receive US$250.
Since August, most have received only a single payment, and not in cash.
“We couldn’t use the coins for anything,” said one worker. “We complained, but they told us to be patient. Then we were told to stay home while they “sorted out paperwork.”
When workers demanded answers, Green Dollar Coin president Noel Mavura allegedly told them the company was still seeking registration with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
He asked them to “pause work” temporarily and offered a US$2 daily transport allowance, which they refused.
Weeks later, employees were told to stay home altogether. Their contracts are now expiring at the end of October with no salaries, no settlements, and no sign of the promised registration. The RBZ confirmed that Green Dollar Coin and Green Dollar Development Bank are not registered financial institutions in Zimbabwe.
“We have not received any application from such an entity,” the RBZ said. “It is a crime to operate as a financial institution without registration. The public should report such operations immediately,” the bank said.
Only 19 banks and 300 microfinance institutions are currently licensed in Zimbabwe.
Green Dollar Coin is not one of them.
The Central Bank of Lesotho, where Mavura claimed his institution was regulated, also denied its existence.
While his staff went unpaid, Mavura reportedly bought a house in an upmarket Harare suburb, paid a US$10 000 lobola, and travelled to Kenya with his new wife to “meet investors.”
At the same time, a handful of employees remained at Green Dollar’s offices, still accepting deposits from the public, raising fears that unsuspecting clients could be victims of a financial con. Lawyer Similo Nkiwane said the affected employees have a strong case.
“Those contracts are legally binding,” she said.
“The employer must honour them or face Labour Court action. Beyond that, operating without RBZ registration is a criminal matter.”
The sponsorship deal was unveiled with fanfare, a US$1.2 million annual payout over three years, US$100 000 for activations and performance bonuses.
Two new team buses were also promised.
Yet, with the bank’s legal status in question, the entire arrangement hangs by a thread.
“When the deal was launched, it was presented as Green Dollar Development Bank from Lesotho,” said one source. “When doubts emerged, the name suddenly changed to Green Dollar Coin.”
CAPS United management later said the confusion was a “mix-up in naming,” but questions remain. No official disbursement has been confirmed since the unveiling.
The RBZ has urged Zimbabweans to be cautious.
“The public must be wary of unregistered financial operators,” the RBZ added. “Report any suspicious entities immediately.”
For now, Green Dollar Coin’s glossy promises are fading fast.
Unpaid workers. A phantom registration. A football club still waiting for its millions.
And a lingering question that Zimbabwean football, and the public, cannot ignore.
Was the CAPS United deal ever real, or was it a well-packaged scam from the start?
