Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
DYNAMOS are on the verge of appointing Vincent Chawonza as executive chairperson in a bid to change the way they operate, with the hope of attracting more partners while also improving relations with existing sponsors.
Chawonza, a business executive, is set to replace Moses Maunganidze.
The relegation fight in the just-ended season seemed to have been a wake-up call for the Glamour Boys, and the fact that players ended up finding inspiration to fight from outside greatly exposed the current executive.
Chances are high that if club owner Bernard Marriot, who took much of the flack in the past season, goes ahead with the proposed restructuring of the executive and makes the appointments formal and sustainable, the good times could be back.
The current executive — including Webster Marechera, who is secretary general, Justice Mubayi as treasurer, Vice chair Clemence Chimbare and board member marketing David Chikomo — did not provide Marriot with enough shield from stakeholders at the height of the crisis to spare him the blushes.
In the new set-up, Maunganidze is unlikely to be retained, Marechera will not retain the position of secretary general, Mubayi’s position is in balance while Chimbare and Chikomo are set to go, insiders say.
“The agreement has been made, but there are lot of moving pieces in the proposed set-up . . . But this week there can be something concrete.”
Apart from business executive Chawonza, there are no other new candidates in the picture, with indications the potential new chair may be consulted in coming up with the new set-up. Efforts to get a comment from Marriot yesterday afternoon were fruitless.
Although he is yet to make the developments public, the writing has also been on the wall for the past weeks now, with Chawonza appearing with the Dynamos delegation in public, including when captain Emmanuel Jalai was handed over a vehicle by the President over the weekend.
Dynamos have been struggling on and off the field.
Although loyal sponsor Sakunda Holdings continued to pay salaries to players, the executive still failed to break even running a club that literally had no winning bonuses to talk about in the first half of the season.
The situation was made worse when fans boycotted home games at one stage of the season, affecting the club’s bottom line.
To add to that, the executive made poor decisions on coach appointments twice, and it was only when Kaindu was brought on board that the sinking ship was saved.
“As things stand, if Dynamos owner Marriot makes the changes, the club will get more sponsor commitment that will cover players’ sign on fees, winning bonuses and ensure the coach is happy. That is why he (Marriot) is interested. But it’s complex because he is also very close with some of the people in the current executive. It’s a difficult decision he has to make,” said the source.
“So if the restructuring is to happen, there has to be a memorandum of understanding because the sponsors are also monitoring the situation and will not tolerate shifting of goal posts. They want their brand to be associated with stability.”
As things stand, time is running out for Dynamos with the club set to lose some players who will be out of contract by December 31 while there is uncertainty over coach Kelvin Kaindu.
