The case of suspended ZIFA Chief Executive Officer makes very interesting following. There was so much noise about her suspension for alleged mismanagement at ZIFA offices and being involved in betting and match fixing scandals, yet the case has progressed slowly and the much hyped hearing is yet to take place. Rushwaya is further accused of authorising the travelling of the Zimbabwe National Senior Soccer team without approval from the Sports and Recreation Commission.
The hearing, which is supposed to give the Iron Lady of Local Football a chance to respond to the allegations levelled against her, has been postponed for one reason or the other, countless times. The latest postponement is alleged to be due to the fact that the ZIFA witnesses were away. This has been the case in previous times when either Rushwaya or ZIFA’s lawyers have failed to make themselves available. Now there is doubt as to whether this case will get to its logical conclusion.
Already, Rushwaya’s lawyers argue that the ZIFA Disciplinary Committee erred in not convening her internal hearing within 30 days as required. One wonders if the current delays are not going to have the same effect, naturally or at law. It has been the case in many instances in Zimbabwe for such high profile cases to be postponed and delayed until the public has forgotten and they die a natural death.
This case must be explored to its root as it may represent a dangerous cancer bedevilling the local game. Many have argued that the game will be difficult to run for as long as the mother association itself is rotten. Here is a chance for ZIFA to exonerate itself and redeem some credibility.
The whole way in which the alleged mismanagement took place smirks of an organisation that is run on tuck shop management principles. The case puts into question governance structure not only at ZIFA but in the whole sports management framework in Zimbabwe. For instance, how could the Sports Commission authorise the release of funds to ZIFA under such unclear circumstances. Fine, as an employee of the Association, the Chief Executive runs the day to day issues but surely there must be bounds. Borrowing such substantial amounts surely requires Board approval. As the supreme sports body in the country, the SRC must require board resolutions to accompany such applications by associations affiliated to it. So, in our eyes, this case transcends individuals but shows gross ineptness in the whole sports structure of the country.
Even if we look at the issue of the National Team travelling without the approval of the Sports Commission. Yes, Zimbabwe is not the only nation to be involved in such cases, with the latest coming out of Togo where an official received a life ban over the same allegations. But what’s striking is that in most of such cases, the teams involved will not be the official national teams of the countries involved, showing that the football powers that be in that country have the control of their team. Remember the bogus Ecuadorian team that played the then Sunday Chidzambwa coached Warriors just before the AFCON Finals in Tunisia in 2004?
But, in our case, the actual Warriors team was involved.
Firstly, it’s amazing how people then turn up to profess their ignorance of what would have happened when it would have reported in the papers that the team is leaving. Surely one or a few individuals can’t be in total control of a whole nation’s football team. This should be beyond individuals. There must be a system known by everyone involved, including the players. There must be a national assurance in place before they agree to board the plane and leave the country. Let’s look beyond here, and imagine a situation where something more serious than match fixing happens. We don’t mean to be alarmist but so much happens in international travel that our players and officials must be guaranteed that the Government of Zimbabwe, through the SRC, guarantees their travel outside the country. Are there any such things in place? If so, to what extent are they being implemented, not just in soccer, but all sports?
All stakeholders need to be concerned about the blatant flouting of corporate governance principles, which we strongly believe goes beyond the ZIFA CEO’s office. We shouldn’t be surprised when club officials receive “gifts” from their opponents on behalf of their clubs. It seems common cause that after officials have signed on behalf of their clubs and agree to accept whatever decision is made regarding their participation in a competition, they can decide to go against this when the decision don’t favour them. Are we surprised when the nation’s Premier Soccer league reportedly uses two different constitutions to run its affairs? What lacks is simple constitutionalism. An understanding that governance is of laws, not men. We just can’t accept to apply the law and best practices, even where our personal interests are compromised.
All these issues show a bigger issue that goes beyond individuals. It’s a systematic problem that needs to be dealt with. What’s more disturbing is that when one man fires the board that runs his club for being AWOL, and questions why the official team band leaves the country without approval, many rush to point fingers at him and accuse him of all sorts of things. Yes, we all need to be successful at what we do, and support the national cause each time, but we must ask ourselves at what cost. In Goal setting they say it is not the result you achieve at the end of the day which is most important, but who you become in the process. We might all be happy to have played Brazil, but who did we become in the eyes of the footballing world, in the midst of the whole Kentaro dispute? How many other high profile nations will be willing to come and play the Warriors, when ZIFA is now being viewed as not able to fulfil its contractual obligations? In the eyes of the world, it doesn’t matter who was in charge of what, what is important is that there need to be systems which work to ensure that regardless of the individual in the office, all is being done in ZIFA (which in the football world is Zimbabwe itself)’s name, and is above board.
It’s simply this ability to create non personal systems, that work which makes the South Africa Premiership look so many miles ahead of ours. It’s the same puzzle that Zimbabwe Cricket has been able to crack that now sees the Cricket equivalents of the Zinedane Zidane, Luis Figo or George Weah coming to be involved in Zimbabwean cricket. The Alan Donalds, Jason Gillespie’s and possibly Briand Laras of cricket can safely come to play or coach in Zimbabwe because they know that the contracts ZC and their franchises offer hold water, whether its Ozias Bvute or someone else who is in office. Ask Tom Saintfiet if he is assured whatever contract he is holding will be honoured? Ask Valinhos, Sunday Marimo, etc.
It will be interesting to uncover how the whole business of contracts is handled at ZIFA. First, we have a contract signed with the organisers of a match that the Presidency of the Association is unaware of. Fine, maybe we could excuse the then incoming Board as this happened during a transition, but again we will ask, aren’t there constitutional arrangements that ensure that accountability is still entrenched regardless of who is in charge? If not, then we are in trouble. Secondly, a sub committee chosen to interview candidates for a job goes ahead and gives one candidate a contract even before it before it has reported its results to the very board that appointed it. What is happening here? Who really is in charge here? What does the ZIFA constitution say? Can the Association really be bound to contracts “it is not aware of”?
One hopes that there are none amongst the current and previous boards whose feathers have been raffled by the Rushwaya case, and no one has the powers to put spanners into this process. Even for the accused herself, it is only fair that she be given an opportunity to clear her name, and the sooner this is done, the fair it will be for all. We hope that the hearing can finally be heard, for the good of the game!
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