The Sunday News
Ricky Zililo, Acting Sports Editor
THIS morning, Highlanders Football Club paid up members meet at the Clubhouse to discuss the team’s financial status at a meeting where the audited financial statements will be presented.
It’s a meeting that the bonafide members have been eagerly waiting to get clarity from the club’s financial point person, treasurer, Busani Mthombeni. The meeting to present 2022 audited statements comes after the first quarter of the financial year and is expected to put to bed reports that Bosso’s financial system is open to manipulation.
The much awaited meeting will see Bosso members also approving the budget for the 2023 season as well as get to know the financial standing of the club. It is at this meeting where members will get to know among other issues the agreement between Highlanders and city businessman Phathisani Nkomo about renovations that happened at the club house.
The facelift of the club house was rumoured to be US$50 000, but Sunday News Sport understands that the actual figure invested in turning around the facility is US$$65 000. Also, members will be briefed on how much was spent on players’ signing-on fees.
Clarity will be shared on financing of the Highlanders executive and board’s trip to Europe where it is said an additional US$1 500 allowance was given to the members who went on tour to England, Spain and France.
The trip was sponsored by the club’s principal bankroller Sakunda. This publication has it on good authority that the additional allowances for members was paid from club’s replica sales from the South African chapter.
Sakunda Holdings
In their report to management (RTM), the auditors reportedly indicated that there were some irregularities in Highlanders’ books, as some transactions were not backed by receipts but that was sorted as it turned out that the “auditors” had missed them in the files. Some of the receipts were retrieved in emails before the audit process finished, club sources said.
The completion of the audit process should bring relief to the club members who will get to know the real financial position of their institution. Pressure was beginning to mount on the Highlanders executive who failed to produce audited financial statements at their 29 January Annual General Meeting. The delay in having the audit completed first started when the executive indicated that they needed four months to separate the US$ and local currency. — @ZililoR
