New twist to Pasuwa saga

The DeMbare league and cup double winning gaffer’s tenure appeared to have ended in acrimony last week with the club’s executive committee announcing that they were going to hire a new man because contract talks with Pasuwa had broken down.
But The Herald can reveal that there has been a series of behind-the-scenes diplomatic manoe-uvres to try and help find common ground between the Kenny Mubaiwa executive and Pasuwa.
Dynamos legend Moses Chunga, who is the interim chairman of the Zimbabwe Soccer Coaches Union, yesterday engaged Mubaiwa over the Pasuwa saga with a view to try and mediate.
Mubaiwa later revealed that his leadership had convened another meeting today following Chunga’s mediation efforts.
Chunga, who made it clear that he was not interested in meddling in the internal affairs of the club, appeared to have made headway in his mediation efforts as the DeMbare leadership immediately called for a meeting of the club’s executive today.
The fate of the club’s technical department had become a subject of intense debate following DeMbare’s announcement that they will cut ties with Pasuwa when his contract expires this weekend after failing to agree terms in protracted talks for a new deal.
Dynamos even flighted advertisements in the media for the “vacant” coaching job but after meeting with Chunga yesterday, Mubaiwa then called for an executive meeting “to chart the way forward.”
“We had planned to move on following that impasse, but it appears Pasuwa is willing to re-engage in talks. Chunga called on me today (yesterday) and we had a frank discussion about the issue,” said Mubaiwa.
“We agreed on many things but this is a sensitive issue and I couldn’t make a decision on my own. So I had to call for a meeting with the executive to see how we can go about it because others may disagree,” Mubaiwa said
The DeMbare executive will meet this afternoon and they are likely to engage Pasuwa afterwards in a move that might see the coach penning a new deal with the Harare giants.
Negotiations between Pasuwa and the executive had collapsed after the two parties failed to agree on remuneration for the coach.
Despite reaching common ground on many items, the issue of the figure of the coach’s salary remained the sticking point as Pasuwa had tabled a monthly salary of US$4 000 while the executive maintained that they could only afford US$3 000.
Although details of the meeting with the ZSCU were not immediately available, Chunga – who has a rich history as player and coach at Dynamos – chose to play down his role in the discussion with Mubaiwa but said the parties needed to negotiate in good faith.
“I wouldn’t want to pre-empt the details of the discussion but we had a good full meeting with Mubaiwa and we are happy that the Dynamos leadership gave us the opportunity to talk with them.
“Actually we were not trying to find out who was wrong or who was right but as a coaches’ body we are concerned when such things involving coaches happen in our football.
“It’s unfortunate that it appears some of the things have been blown out of proportion by the media but we felt that there should have been a lot of interaction between the coach and the Dynamos leadership,” said Chunga.
While Chunga and the ZSCU were taking the initiative to mediate, it has also emerged that the Dynamos board of directors have also stepped in to mediate in the stalemate between the coach and the committee, which had resulted in the nasty public fallout between the two parties.
The Dynamos founding fathers also gave a hint that they would like to see a quick resolution to the coaching issue to enable the team to begin early preparations for the new season.
One of the board members Robson Rundaba yesterday said the issue of the coach has not been formally communicated to the board yet.
But Rundaba said his board preferred a scenario where Pasuwa’s tenure was extended, arguing that they had always wanted continuity.
Rundaba indicated that the board would prefer to go with Pasuwa for the sake of continuity in their quest for more glory next season.
“We did well in 2011 and we want to maintain the momentum next season. Our aim is to reach at least the mini-league stage and probably go all the way to the semi-finals,” said Rundaba.
“What we know is that Pasuwa’s contract will expire on December 31 and it is not a secret that as the Dynamos family we are all happy with what we achieved last season.
“Results indicate that we worked as a united family and I would like to express my appreciation to the players, technical team, the executive and everyone who made a contribution for a job well done. So far we haven’t heard from the executive about the issue of the coach’s appointment. It’s a matter that they deal with and since they have advertised the post, we have to hear from them. Since time is not on our side we will seek to get the full details but I would urge them to pursue negotiations with Pasuwa if possible,” said Rundaba.
Sources close to the goings on at Dynamos also said some influential members of the board were not amused at the manner in which the executive had handled the contract talks and their decision “to publicly ridicule the coach over his demands”.
“The board of directors are not happy that a team that should be celebrating the success of winning the Charity Shield, the BOB at 87 Cup and the league and cup double is actually squabbling in the public domain.
“The Glamour that should be associated with all that success has now been diverted to the slanging match in the newspapers to an extent that the executive can demean the coach as someone that they picked from the streets.
“It must be noted that Pasuwa was not picked from the streets as he has served Dynamos with distinction as a player and assistant coach before he came back as head coach this year.
“He has sacrificed a lot for the club and was there in 2005 as an assistant to Chunga as Dynamos battled relegation so to say that he must be grateful only to the current executive for giving him the mandate to be head coach was taken by the board members as grossly irresponsible statements coming from people who are in a position of authority at the club and who should be dealing with this case in a calm manner,” the sources said.
There were also revelations yesterday that the board of directors will apart from talking to the executive over the issue also meet with Pasuwa today to hear his side of the story as a lasting solution is being sought.
The Dynamos board have a standing resolution that the club cannot hire a foreign coach without exhausting an array of the club’s former players who have since graduated into coaches, with such a stance likely to pour cold water on efforts to lure back Zambian gaffer Keegan Mumba.