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Govt irks clubs
By
Garry Chirwa - 18-07-2002 |
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Super League clubs have described a recent ban on Fam to contract out revenue collection to private cashiers at all government institutions as daylight betrayal. The clubs were expected to meet yesterday to discuss the issue.
According to a letter from the ministry dated June 21, 2002, signed by its director of sports Bester Kalombo, addressed to Sports Council and copied to Fam, government claims to have identified a number of anomalies in the new system and that the auditor general has queried the use of non-government officers to collect revenue.
The clubs said yesterday that they feel cheated out of the deal having got the blessing of sports minister Moses Dossi last year.
MTL Wanderers chair Humphrey Mvula said:
“We have been taken for a ride. We don’t know whether to blame the minister or Sports Council. This was a decision which the minister himself, the chair and deputy executive secretary of Sports Council as well as Fam sanctioned and Kalombo was present at that meeting.
“At least they should have had the courtesy to say how the system is failing to work, we know government is almighty but they should have consulted. Our argument is simple.
“We have the stadium, based on willing buyer and willing seller. Government demands 25 percent ground levy, what is more at stake between the 25 percent which they get and the 75 percent...why should somebody with less interest decide to collect money on behalf of someone with a higher interest?” Mvula queried.
Mvula explained that any other day Fam and the clubs have tried the system, it has generated more money.
“We chose that system because we identified weaknesses with the old system, e.g. tickets were old and, therefore, there was a possibility of fraud. The cashiers had become too acquainted to the system.
“There are also stories that officials in government, as well as clubs, were running ticket rackets. It is difficult to prove but there are those stories. From that background we said it was imperative to bring in ad hoc cashiers,” he added.
Big Bullets general secretary Krishna Achuthan said the clubs are not convinced that the decision to ban private cashiers was made in the interest of football.
“They didn’t consult all stakeholders and we view that as being dictatorial and we’ll not accept that,” Achuthan said. |
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