Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
A NEW wave could soon be sweeping across netball amid revelations that the perennial problems haunting the national association.
Elections at the Zimbabwe Netball Association are due in March 2027.
The Sports and Recreation Commission have been assisting ZINA to improve their governance structures.
Acting Sports Commission director-general Peter Mudzimiri said yesterday that they are looking to ZINA staging their polls in terms of the association’s constitution.
“The last Elective Annual General Meeting for ZINA was held on 26 March 2022 at St Peters School in Harare,” said Sports and Recreation Commission Director of legal and corporate services Peter Mudzimiri.
“The elections ushered in the executive that is currently in office, including retaining Leticia Chipandu as president.
“In terms of Article 18 of the current registered ZINA constitution, the tenure of the Executive is five years meaning elections are due March 2027.”
In the four years that the current leadership has been at the helm, a lot has happened in the game.
Their first major task in office was to lead the senior team to the 2023 Netball World Cup Qualifiers before the finals in 2023, with both tournaments held in South Africa.
At the Netball World Cup finals, the Gems finished the tournament in position 13 out of the 16, translating to a below-average performance.
The following year, the team secured bronze at the Africa Netball Cup held in Swakopmund, Namibia while South Africa won gold and Uganda snatched silver.
While the performance was enough to briefly appease the fans and stakeholders, big problems were emerging.
Accusations emerged of ZINA failing to honour their athletes’ obligations.
This was despite ZINA enjoying financial backing from Nedbank Zimbabwe.
With disturbing evidence of missing funds, unpaid medical bills and questionable demands on players, ZINA faced a big credibility test.
Some players who allegedly got injured on national duty were neglected leading their clubs to intervene.
The Gems’ trip to the Celtic Cup in Scotland in November that year, players were reportedly forced to pay US$70 each for warm clothing despite the team having a dedicated sponsor.
With these and several other issues that were later raised by stakeholders during their interface with SRC, ZINA president Chipandu was suspended.
It is also around this time that it emerged that former Gems shooter Joice Takaidza who was made to self-fund her 2023 World Cup trip from the United Kingdom to South Africa on the promise that she would be reimbursed never received her funds.
Takaidza is still owed nearly US$3 000.
There are also revelations that ZINA are yet to make acquittals to the parent ministry for the support rendered at the World Cup.
However, several weeks after suspension, Chipandu was reinstated into office without any explanation from SRC in a move that left the netball family disgruntled.
And as the clock ticks down the final stretch of their ZINA executive tenure, stakeholders can only hope for the best.
“We are looking forward to the elections, change has long been overdue,” said an administrator who refused to be named.
“Unfortunately, when election dates are set, we are never told . . . we only get to hear of these elections after the voting has been done.”
“For other sport codes dates are set and the public made aware while nominations are even openly submitted and candidates allowed to contest,” added another club administrator.
“They have always been shutting people out with the manner they conduct their business, and we wish there could be interventions, in time.” ZINA secretary-general Racheal Tinorwirashe and vice-president Emmanuel Harawa are the only members eligible to recontest for the coming elections while the rest of the executive have already exceeded their mandatory two terms.
