THE Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa)’s High Court application to be placed under trustee management last week appears to have thrown the shadowy Zifa (Pvt) Ltd back into the spotlight amid revelations that the national football governing body’s assets are worth only $30 000.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO/CHARLES LAITON
Zifa (Pvt) Ltd — which claims to be a separate entity from the football association — owns four properties which include the Zifa House at Number 53 Livingstone Avenue in Harare, the Zifa Village in Mt Hampden, a house along McLoughlin Road in Kensington, and another house in Bulawayo.
Long-serving former Zifa treasurer Frank Valdermarca is one of the directors of Zifa (Pvt) Ltd, which has in the past six years been used by the association to shield its immovable properties from being attached.
And it looks like it will be the case yet again as the football association seeks to sidestep creditors after meeting two weeks ago to “dissolve” the old, debt-ridden national association and replace it with a new organisation, which they renamed the National Football Association of Zimbabwe (Nafaz).
In its court application for voluntary sequestration and surrender of itself with the High Court of Zimbabwe under HC5941/16 and dated June 10 2016, Zifa said its financial position had crippled the smooth running of the country’s football mother body.
“By and large, the key reasons for the predicament of the applicants are that they are unable to meet their obligations, pay for services they receive (d) and pay their debts on the basis that it has no obligations and it has no capacity to do so and has no source (s) of income to meet such obligations,” Zifa president Philip Chiyangwa said.
“The applicant has been exposed to litigation on numerous occasions and in the process has lost money, goodwill, reputation and any assets of value and is now left with a depleted asset register which virtually has nothing, such that its liabilities, debts and obligations now far outweigh its assets,” he added.
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“Applicant has been making serious operating losses since dollarisation. The revenue it has been generating has been way less than its expenses. The net effect was that creditors and service providers continued to raid its assets, thus depleting the assets to a paltry value way less than thirty thousand United States dollars, against a creditor’s list with a total way in excess of $6 million,” he said.
The soccer boss went further to show a list of those that are owed by Zifa among them being companies and individuals who at some point rendered services to the football body.
“The financial position of the applicant is clearly in a zone which cannot just be characterised as unhealthy, but rather more than critical and hopeless,” Chiyangwa said.
The application is yet to be set down for hearing.
Ironically, Chiyangwa declared that he would settle the crippling debts owed to various creditors after carrying out a forensic audit during his campaign to become Zifa president.
But recently, the wealthy businessman and politician has shifted goalposts, going to the extent of daringly saying that the plight of creditors and former Zifa workers was not his problem.
CBZ Bank Limited, which is owed $1 795 000, heads the long list of companies and individuals owed by the local football governing body while Buymore Investments, which is owned by former Zifa president Cuthbert Dube, is also owed $438 222.
Other notable creditors include the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority ($504 998, 62), Pandari Lodges and Conference Centre ($268 436), Asiagate investigating committee ($650 000), international match agents Kentaro ($600 000), NSSA ($149 517, 14), the Sports and Recreation Commission ($180 386, 40) and Led Travel &Tours ($244 527).
Former coaches who are yet to get their dues include Norman Mapeza ($245 000), Rahman Gumbo ($78 000) Sunday Chidzambwa ($68 000), Charles Mhlauri ($17 270) and Nelson Matongorere ($113 463).
According to the High Court application, Zifa’s debt stood at $6 611 183,90 as of February 2016.
The cash-strapped association’s salaries arrears for current employees stood at $641 950 as of April 27, while ex-employees are owed a total of $1 250 194.
