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Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor—
ZIFA have launched a sensational crackdown and disowned two high-profile officials, Joshua Khumalo and Tinashe Mapuranga, accusing them of being part of a cartel of individuals, who should be named and shamed, for allegedly masquerading as employees of the association. The crackdown comes at a time when zifa chief executive, Jonathan Mashingaidze, has also re-organised his office by demoting his Personal Assistant, Sheilah Ncube, and redeploying her to man the front desk at the association’s headquarters, while engaging a new PA, Alice Mwale.
Mashingaidze said the internal office changes were necessary for the secretariat to “have personnel that will be able to service the Association’s strategic plan’s seven key result areas with distinction.”
However, sources said Ncube was demoted after losing the trust of her boss, at a time of heightened tension at 53 Livingstone Avenue, which is linked to the purge that has led to Khumalo and Mapuranga being disowned by the association.
“Ms Alice Mwale takes over from Ms Sheilah Ncube as PA to the Chief Executive Officer and she will be in charge of the Chief Executive Officer’s diary of events, handling confidential issues, interacting with the Board, Assembly, Stakeholders, Government, cosafa, caf, fifa and other organisations,” Mashingaidze wrote in his internal memo.
Mashingaidze also wrote to zifa affiliates disowning Khumalo, who in the past two years appeared to have enjoyed a remarkable transformation in his life — from being jailed for swindling the association eight years ago to bouncing back as the Warriors’ kit manager.
In a strongly-worded letter sent to all their affiliates, from the Premier Soccer League to the Area Zones, and copied to the association’s president, Cuthbert Dube, Mashingaidze disowned Khumalo.
“The Zimbabwe Football Association hereby advises all affiliate organs of the Association that Mr Joshua Khumalo is not an employee of the Association and has no role to play in Association football,” Mashingaidze wrote on July 30 this year.
“He has, of late, been contacting some affiliates purporting to be doing so on behalf of the Association.
“Please be advised that should you want to get information from the Board or Secretariat that will only be done through the Chief Executive Officer of zifa.
“It has come to the attention of the Association that there are some characters masquerading as employees and such characters should be named and shamed once their identities have been established.”
Reports indicate that Khumalo, who has been a regular feature at 53 Livingstone Avenue and at functions held by the association, fell out with some people when he made claims that there were some questionable dealings at the zifa offices.
Unfortunately, said the sources, the zifa official who received his report decided to expose Khumalo as the whistleblower, leading to the latest purge.
Khumalo, though, has a colourful past.
In May, 2006, he was dragged to court by zifa and was convicted, on his own plea of guilty to theft by conversion of the association’s funds, and sentenced to an effective eight months in jail by magistrate Priscilla Chigumba.
But, despite this grim background, Khumalo bounced back to force his way into the zifa structures.
Khumalo was part of the official Warriors’ delegation that travelled to Egypt in March this year, for a 2014 World Cup qualifier against the Pharaohs in German coach, Klaus Dieter-Pagels’ first competitive assignment in charge of the national team.
He was scheduled to travel with the team for the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Guinea in Conakry but was part of the group of officials, screened from the travelling delegation, because of complications related to the funding of that trip.
On July 22, this year, Mashingaidze also wrote a similar letter, to all the affiliates, disowning Mapuranga as a member of the association.
“The Zimbabwe Football Association hereby advises all affiliate organs of the Association that Mr Tinashe Mapuranga is not an employee of the Association and has no role to play in Association football,” Mashingaidze wrote on July 22 this year.
“He has, of late, been contacting some affiliates purporting to be doing so on behalf of the Association.
“It has come to the attention of the Association that there are some characters masquerading as employees and such characters should be named and shamed once their identities have been established.”
Mapuranga was considered a powerful behind-the-scenes aide to the zifa leadership, in the past four years, in which his close bond with the game’s leaders grew with him attending most of the big meetings, including the elective Assembly indaba in March this year at the zifa Village.
The local media referred to him as a zifa protocol officer and he used to travel, as the advance party for the Warriors, ahead of a number of their away trips in the Nations Cup and World Cup assignments.
In March 2011, he travelled as the Warriors’ advance party to Mali, ahead of the team’s trip to that West African nation for a Nations Cup qualifier, and was quoted in the local media as a zifa protocol officer.
The heightened tension at the zifa headquarters comes at a time when the association’s audited financial statements were qualified by external auditors Baker Tilly Gwatidzo Chartered Accountants.
The auditors, in presenting an adverse opinion for the accounts, cast doubt on zifa being classified as a going concern and noted:
“In our opinion, because of the significance of the matters described in the Basis for Adverse Opinion paragraph, the consolidated financial statements do not present fairly the financial position of Zimbabwe Football Association as at 31 December 2013, and its financial performance and cash flows for the year that ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards,” the auditors said in their report.
“The organisation (zifa) had an accumulated net loss of US$6 591 691 as at 31 December 2013 and, as at that date, the organisation’s total liabilities exceeded its total assets by US$4 792 748.
“Note 11 describes the challenges being faced by the organisation that indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the organisation’s ability to continue as a going concern.
“The financial statements are prepared on the going concern basis which, in our judgment, is inappropriate in the circumstances.
“We could not satisfy ourselves with the completeness of the liabilities recorded in the statement of financial position.
“Due to the worsening cash-flow position, the organisation relies mainly on credit purchases with some liabilities unrecorded. In addition, the organisation has many pending litigations and the internal controls are not designed in a way that enables the identification of unrecorded liabilities
“A substantial portion of income comprises grants and donations. In common with similar organisations it is impracticable to implement accounting controls prior to entry of such income in the books of accounts.
“Whilst we have no reason to believe that there is any unrecorded income of this nature, we were unable to confirm this. Our tests were confined to recorded receipts.”
Online Reporter