Netball saga rages

Veronica Gwaze

IT seems there is no end in sight for the country’s netball problems, with Zimbabwe’s netball stakeholders saying they are not satisfied with the manner in which the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC) reacted to their petition.

A group of concerned netball administrators recently petitioned the SRC over alleged “gross irregularities” and incompetence in the Zimbabwe Netball Association (Zina).

The petitioners cited disregard and violation of Zina’s constitution as well as Zina’s failure to meet the requirements of the SRC Act.

They also highlighted that there was reckless violation of good corporate governance tenets by the Zina leadership.

In response to the petition, SRC asked Zina to answer to the allegations.

They further instructed the netball board to elect a new executive.

However, SRC’s action has left netball in quandary. The general sentiment is that the regulatory body did not fully address the root cause of the problems bedevilling the sport. Rainbow Amateur Netball League secretary-general Moses Gukurume said they received the SRC’s actions with a pinch of salt.

“SRC’s intervention is a welcome development that will see us being registered as an affiliate of Zina.

“However, we remain skeptical about the decision that was passed before SRC had stated their position on the petition.

“There are allegations contained in that petition, which we feel should have been dealt with before a directive was given,” he said.

Following the SRC directive, the netball stakeholders revealed that they cannot trust Zina to hold free and fair elections for various reasons, some of which were contained in the petition.

“To task the same Zina executive, which has these allegations hanging over their heads, with the running of credible elections, is asking for too much from them. lt is also too much for us,” Gukumure added.

He reiterated that before the elections, the SRC needs to deal with the allegations to prove that nothing is being swept under the carpet.

But Zina president Leticia Chipandu said her association will comply with the SRC directive.

Chipandu said they responded to the allegations in detail, attaching all the evidence required by SRC.

“People should stop reacting this way when nothing has been concluded. They need to understand and follow up on the procedures being taken.

“As Zina, we were asked to respond to the allegations and we did just that. We provided all the evidence that we were asked to provide, so I cannot comment much on that issue,” she said.

Despite the various allegations against the netball governing board, Chipandu feels that concerns are emanating from the endorsement and registration of RANL as an independent league.

SRC corporate communications officer Tirivashe Nheweyembwa said if netball administrators still have queries with the governing board’s move, they should write directly to director-general Prince Mupazviriho.

He said in their writing, the administrators should cite specific areas that need further attention.

“We are working on resolving the netball issue and as everyone knows, some action has already been taken.

“However, queries continue to rise. Those who have more issues should write directly to the DG. In their writing, they should clearly state the areas they need us to further look into, otherwise we are dealing with the issue in the best possible manner,” said Nheweyembwa.