admin
Sports Correspondent
INTERNAL squabbles seem to have resurfaced at Zimbabwe Saints following a meeting held a fortnight ago where it was resolved that the club dissolve the interim executive and retain the board of trustees as the only operating structure. Secretary of the Board of trustees, Tawanda Ruzive was last week quoted in this publication saying those who attended the meeting agreed to have one centre of power to ensure the smooth revival of the former league champions. However, a member of the interim executive said it was misleading to say they had been dissolved as their mandate was to revive the structures of the club, a job that was yet to be completed.
Caleb Sengu said their mission was to revive the club’s structures that include a substantive executive and supporters committee, hence before that was achieved, they could not be wished off.
“Following the story you published last week people have been calling me asking what is going on and why we have been dissolved but that is not true and I want to set the record straight on the issue.
“The steering committee that is led by Gibson Homela was put into place by members following the club’s ejection from Division One in an effort to revitalise our club and bring it back to its feet. Our mandate is to create the board of trustees, substantive executive and supporters committee, we began with the former and are still to create the others.
“I think the mandate of the trustees is quite clear, their role is mainly to revive the clubhouse and source funding for the club. For them to be said to have been assigned to run the club is wrong and it would be against the club’s constitution,” he said.
Sengu said the trustees were meant to safeguard the assets of the club particularly the clubhouse and ensure it was refurbished and start to generate revenue for the club.
He said there could be no two centres of power as the roles of the interim executive and trustees were different.
“There was a substantive executive which was headed by Homela and I was part of it but we were asked to step down with a steering committee being put in place to revive club structures. Homela was also tasked with heading the new body as we sought to bring the club back to its feet and I was also made part of that interim executive.
“The trustees should also raise funds for the team so that when we get back to playing football, they bankroll us for the first five games, whichever league we will be playing in next year,” added Sengu.
He said at the last meeting, membership was pegged at $10 a month.
Sengu said three quarters of the members of the board of trustees were not there when the steering committee was formed hence they might not be fully aware of the role the different organs and that some overzealous members were now pushing for the ouster of the steering committee when it was still to fulfill its mandate.
Contacted for comment, Ruzive referred this reporter to trustees chairman Vincent Pamire but the former Zifa vice-president’s mobile was unreachable.
Sengu said the steering committee could only be dissolved once a new executive has been put in place.
Despite boasting an illustrious past, Chauya Chikwata, as the club is affectionately known, has in the recent past fallen on hard times with virtually no resources to finance the club while internal squabbles over the running of the club fuelled the demise of the club.
The team was kicked out of the Southern Region Division One following failure to pay affiliation fees and owed Zifa in excess of $5 000.
The Pamire-led board of trustees was instituted in September with the mandate to oversee the revival of the club. It comprises Felix Dzumbunu, Winston Babbage, Ruzive, Never Nduru, Martin Mabvira, Roger Russell, Charles Chiponda, Godfrey Mashayanhaya, Musekiwa Kumbula and Nobert Sebastian.
Online Reporter