Kazala hangs by the thread

Sat, 25 Mar 2017 12:32:54 +0000

…as FAZ council also ponders reducing Electoral College or risk Zambia being banned by FIFACOUNCILLORS are today expected to decide the fate of suspended Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) vice president Richard Kazala and executive committee member Blackwell Siwale during the soccer body annual general meeting (AGM) at Government Complex in Lusaka.

FAZ is also expected to implement the FIFA directive to reduce the Electoral College from 380 to below 100, failure to which Zambia will be suspended from international soccer engagements which includes the Under-20 World Cup in May.

FIFA has given FAZ till March 31, 2017, to amend its constitution.

The other item on the agenda is the expansion of the Super League from 18 to 20 teams which has received massive backing from lower division teams.

On the Kazala-Siame case, Minister of Sport Moses Mawere overruled the dissolved Sports Council of Zambia (NSCZ) directive to FAZ not to table their suspension before the council during the extraordinary meeting last month in which the two were cited for gross misconduct.

The dissolved Mwamba Kalenga-led NSCZ board had written to FAZ not to include the issue on the agenda as it was under investigation.

But the minister yesterday said NSCZ had no jurisdiction to decide what item should be on the FAZ agenda.

“The NSCZ board has no powers to stop members from putting an item on the agenda, not even the minister has the right to do so.  It is up to FAZ to decide whether the item should be included on the agenda or not,” he said.

FAZ president Andrew Kamanga last November suspended Kazala and Siwale for alleged gross misconduct and failure to account for ticket sales of  K1,650,000.

The duo is also charged with failure to exercise due care, thereby resulting in FAZ incurring potential loss of K1.9 million on account of them accepting K1.6 million in exchange for 30,000 tickets despite  Kamanga and FAZ general secretary Ponga Liwewe negotiating a higher figure of K 3.5 million

Kazala is charged with insubordination for allegedly ordering the issuance of the nomination letter of Kalusha Bwalya as FIFA council committee member to be written irrespective of the COSAFA and CECAFA position over the matter and despite Kamanga issuing out an instruction that the matter be tabled during the executive committee meeting.

Meanwhile, another potentially divisive item that could be proposed is the impeachment of Kamanga.

Mawere on Thursday made an unexpected pronouncement that councillors were at liberty to propose the impeachment of Kamanga as an item on the agenda provided they had solid reasons and were within the FAZ constitution.

The Northern Province Football Association (NOPAFA) executive committee, which was recently dissolved by FAZ, is among those calling for the impeachment of Kamanga.

But their planned move has been pre-empted when FAZ dissolved the executive committee on Tuesday, meaning they cannot attend today’s AGM.

NOPAFA general secretary, Michael Chimponda, has insisted that he will attend the AGM today because only the FAZ executive committee can dissolve his executive, and not an individual.

“Ponga Liwewe has no powers to dissolve the NOPAFA executive. I will definitely attend the AGM tomorrow,” he said.

Former minister of Transport and Communications William Harrington has urged the NOPAFA councillors to dialogue with the association during today’s AGM on how they could develop football in Zambia. “I urge both councillors and FAZ executive to put aside their personal interests and use the AGM to address the disciplinary issues that have negatively affected running of football in our country,” he said.