We didn’t endorse Chiyangwa: SRC
The Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) has rubbished claims that it had endorsed property mogul Phillip Chiyangwa for the Zifa presidency after he donated $10,000 to the Mighty Warriors.
Chiyangwa, who is vying for domestic football’s top post with businessman Trevor-Carelse-Juul, Harare executive Lesley Gwindi and former Warriors’ right-back James Takavada, recently handed the cash to the SRC for the Rio Olympics-bound girls.
However, a women’s football board member Cecilia Gambe alleged that the SRC was endorsing Chiyangwa’s candidature. SRC director-general Charles Nhemachena said they had no modus operandi to nominate or endorse anyone for appointment or election to any position in national sport associations.
“This is the sole prerogative of the members of national sport associations as provided for in their respective constitutions. The SRC can only encourage the national sport associations’ electoral bodies to ensure that they usher into their leadership, appropriately qualified and experienced persons who have the capacity to effectively lead the transformation of the associations into thriving sport enterprises which are underpinned by impeccable credentials of good corporate governance,” said Nhemachena in a statement.
He said the commission welcomes any contribution from individual and corporate sponsors for any of the national sport associations’ programmes, teams or individual athletes for that matter. He said Chiyangwa’s donation was for the Mighty Warriors, who have not been regular beneficiaries of such appreciative gestures.
“In this regard, we reiterate our appreciation to Chiyangwa for his contribution and also take this opportunity to register the same appreciation to other benefactors of the Mighty Warriors and the Warriors. We do not agree with insinuations to the effect that by accepting the donation on behalf of the Mighty Warriors, the SRC was party to a ‘vote buying’ exercise by one of the candidates for the Zifa presidency.
“The beneficiaries of the donation were the players and their technical officials, none of whom participate in the electoral process. It would have been a different case had the donation been targeted by a ‘bona fide’ candidate to any of the persons who are expected to cast their vote at the Zifa elective extraordinary congress.
“Those utterances were made after the close of the meeting in question, but that notwithstanding, it was grossly irresponsible for her to choose the SRC boardroom to make a ‘political statement’. The SRC would like to reassure the national sport associations and the nation at large of its impartiality and commitment to fair play in its dealings on electoral and other issues concerning the administration of sport,” said Nhemachena.
