The Sunday News
THE candidate for the Zifa vice-presidency in the 5 December elections, Omega Sibanda, has promised to hit the ground running once thrust into office.
In an interview on Friday, Sibanda, who was suspended by the time the Zifa councillors booted out the Cuthbert Dube-led executive last month, said once in power he and his team will move in like a whirlwind to normalise the situation at Zifa.
“Look, we know it won’t be a full term and time will not be on our side. I realise it was wasted two years wrought by boardroom squabbles fronted by some people who did not want our football to develop. We were operating in an abnormal situation, from outside no one could understand the operations of Zifa then. It was time wasted,’’ said Sibanda.
“We (if elected) will also approach the problems in an abnormal way. We will move in quickly to identify what we (Zifa) owe to the core. There will be a proper forensic audit by a reputable company. We will use the same auditors which Fifa use. We cannot operate without knowing our status, whether we are a going concern or we are insolvent.
“Once we establish that, which will be done within the shortest possible time, then we can talk money. Money to fund the association, through sponsorship, grants, fundraising, Government assistance and the involvement of various partners and stakeholders. Once we are done with that everything will fall into place.
“We are aware that our term of office will be very short, therefore we should have short term plans to extricate our football from the problems that has bedevilled it for a long time. And thereafter the wheels will be in motion. Then we start rolling.
“However, we can only achieve all these things through inclusiveness that includes councillors and the various stakeholders. Councillors must be heavily involved together with the board; we should be supportive to one another. I have been in the system before we know what happened, but that is history, we are looking forward to collective participation.
“So we are saying let’s have a team of winners. Of which it is a team identified by the councillors themselves because they know the 14-point agenda which revoked the last board’s mandate. With that vision I know football will never be the same again.
Sibanda re-emphasised the Government’s involvement in the game.
“We cannot run football without Government engagement or involvement. We should not be seen rushing to Fifa at every turn crying foul. Fifa also wants to work with governments all the time,’’ he said.
Sibanda appealed to stakeholders to be actively involved in running the game.
“All stakeholders should be in this together. My plea to councillors is that vote wisely I am the vice-president of choice and I won’t let you down,’’ he pleaded.
Sibanda said there were various strategic plans that were written but were never implemented over the years and this should be coalesced into a grand vision of football in this country.
“Those plans will be consolidated to get a true vision of football that can only be achieved if we address the finance issues. This is where Dr (Phillip) Chiyangwa comes in. He is a natural fundraiser and a businessman of repute,’’ he said.
On the issue of the secretariat, the crucial administrative arm of the organisation, Sibanda was agreeable that it should be empowered in order for it to perform.
“The secretariat is responsible for the day-to-day running of Zifa, while the board formulates policy, the secretariat headed by the secretary-general or CEO should implement that policy and it (secretariat) should comprise reputable people. We will monitor them to see if they are implementing policies and if they are found wanting then they should leave.
“The truth is that people in offices were not being paid, one can’t work without pay. How then can we measure their performance, evaluate them? They should be paid so that they execute their mandate without any excuses. That should include every Zifa personnel including coaches,’’ said Sibanda.
“Let football be the winner at the end of the day, let there be unity of purpose, that’s the way to go,’’ he added.
Sibanda will face the challenge of former Dynamos chairman Lincoln Mutasa at the December elections with his running mate Chiyangwa facing Trevor Carelse Juul, James Takavada and Leslie Gwindi in the race for the presidency. Zifa Southern Region chairman Musa Mandaza has thrown his hat into the ring to contest for a board member’s position, and has promised to use his wealth of experience to transform the game at the national level. He is viewed by many councillors as the “father figure”, and like Sibanda, was instrumental in calling for order in the previous Zifa administration together with other regional chairpersons like Central Region’s Felton Kamambo who were brave enough to stand up against former Zifa president, Cuthbert Dube.
