Zifa extend audit to affiliates

By Petros Kausiyo

ZIFA are not taking chances in their bid to establish the true state of football in the country and have revealed that their forensic audit will not only be centred on the association’s headquarters but will spread to all their affiliates.

They have engaged OM Chartered Accountants to carry out a forensic audit as they seek to establish the extent to which they were allegedly prejudiced of funds during the tenure of former chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze.

Although earlier indications were that the audit would be focused on the goings-on at the secretariat, which Mashingaidze headed, Zifa acting president Omega Sibanda said yesterday the forensic would be spread to their affiliates such as the Premier Soccer League, the Women’s League, the regions and the provinces.

Sibanda insisted that their decision to spread the forensic to their affiliate bodies was “not a witch hunt but an exercise we ought to have actually taken before’’.

“We need Zifa to start on a new and clean slate and we want the forensic to touch our affiliates like PSL, women etc.

“We are not witch-hunting but we just want to be clear and clean from the Area zones right up to the head office,’’ Sibanda said.

Sibanda said there was nothing amiss in Zifa auditing their affiliate bodies as Fifa also did the same with their member associations.

“Fifa came here and looked at our books because we are affiliated to them and we expect all Zifa affiliates to do the same. That is also how improve on corporate governance at all levels of our affiliates and members.“How do we know that all our affiliates are still going concerns when we don’t know what their state is and they have not been audited?’’ Sibanda said.

Despite having decided against renewing his contract in 2016, Zifa have instituted criminal investigations on Mashingaidze through the Zimbabwe Republic Police.

They have accused their former chief executive of embezzlement of funds and failing to submit audited accounts to Congress while it has emerged that Zifa are also keen to know what became of the funds which the PSL released to the Association for use in paying outstanding salary of former Warriors’ coach, Valinhos.

The Brazilian coach dragged Zifa to Fifa demanding his dues and after the Association failed to pay him, the world body expelled Zimbabwe from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

With the parliamentary portfolio committee looking to meet with some of the game’s stakeholders today, there also expectations that the legislators will try to unlock some of the puzzles such as how Zifa ended up with such a huge debt exceeding $7 million.

Meanwhile, Sibanda also sought to clarify some misconceptions that have followed Zifa president Philip Chiyangwa’s move to take a break from day-to-day events of the association and focus on his international football assignments.

“If I may correct some people who seem to have misinterpreted or misunderstood the statement on the president being away. In any case he has a deputy who can act in his place which I am doing and there is also a functional board,’’ Sibanda said.

“It must be understood that Zifa is not Chiyangwa and Chiyangwa is not Zifa and the Zifa president is not a full-time employee of the Association. He is not on the Association’s payroll so it is not like he is one of the employees that has gone on leave.

“Zifa have a secretariat that is managed by a chief executive and it is the chief executive or any of his staff who handle all football matters. They have roles such as technical director, competitions or communications so it doesn’t really need the president to be there every day.’’ The Chronicle