‘Council disbanded MPC on personal grounds’

Juma Mkandawire, former president of the dissolved Malawi Paralympics Committee (MPC), has claimed that the Sports Council had issues with the committee.

But council executive secretary George Jana on Tuesday refused to comment on the matter, saying they do not discuss issues in the press.

He, however, said if the people have issues with them, they need to approach the council and make official complaints. He said they wrote a letter to the Mkandawire-led committee before the disbandment, but there was no reply.

Mkandawire claimed that the council is being too economical with the truth as to what led to the recent disbandment of the committee for disability sports.

The council indicated that they decided to disband the organisation for failure to comply with arrangements pertaining to the remittance of the K2.3 million grant from International Paralympics Committee (IPC) meant for the local athletes’ aborted trip to the 2012 London Games.

However, Mkandawire, whose committee has planned legal redress against council’s move, argues that the reason given does not hold water because they acted in accordance with what they were told to do to address the situation.

Mkandawire said that so far, the council has withheld their government subventions amounting to K4.8 million while assuring them that the money had already been sent to the IPC. He said they did everything the council requested them to do and they even paid their K50 000 affiliation fee last month, using personal money.

“The council just wanted us out. We tried to mend fences with them, but it seems they already had in mind people they wanted to run the organisation. We have learnt that it is their tendency to penetrate and disturb associations when they see honest people running the affairs,” said Mkandawire.

He said it was better calling for an elective general meeting rather than dissolving the committee.