GOVERNMENT has begun the process to pay volunteers who officiated at the 2023 Confederations of African Athletics Under-18 and Under-20 Championships which were held in Ndola.
Ministry of Sports Youth and Arts Permanent Secretary Kangwa Chileshe confirmed in an interview that Government delayed paying the volunteers because most of them had no bank accounts.
Chileshe said Government is however processing funds into the accounts of all the volunteers who ensured that the games in Ndola were a success.
“Concerning the volunteers and technical officials who officiated at the Confederations of African Athletics we had this year, I’m glad to tell you that Government has set aside funds for them and those funds right now are being processed into their accounts,” Chileshe said.
“Sometimes we don’t like to say certain things but since there has been an issue it is important that we highlight them and bring them out. Our finance department was ready to pay, the latest should have been a week ago but we had challenges because a vast majority of the volunteers didn’t have bank accounts. Sounds strange but it is reality. So yes, there was a lot of noise on social media and sometimes we as government don’t like to respond to social media,” he said.
Chileshe reminded the volunteers to make sure that they submitted the correct details to be able to receive the funds.
On the US$10, 000 each which was promised to the Chipolopolo boys for qualifying for the Africa Cup, Chileshe said; “That one is being done as well. There were priorities that were given not that the boys are not our priority, nonetheless, there are bills we pay as a ministry behind the scenes, we had to pay for air tickets, accommodation for the girls in Germany and so many other things we have to pay a certain percentage to our coach under FAZ and this is in millions and we will ensure that these things are accounted for.”
Chileshe reaffirmed the government’s commitment to also reward the players who scooped Zambia’s seventh Cosafa Cup title after beating Lesotho 1-0 in the final in Durban last Sunday.
