BB MoU issue sparks controversy
A section of Nyasa Big Bullets followers have demanded an explanation from the team’s immediate past executive and main supporters committees on how the club’s takeover process was finalised without signing memorandum of understanding (MoU) with new owners Nyasa Manufacturing Company (NMC).
According to a WhatsApp group discussion among the club’s former trustees and executive committee members which The Nation has seen, one of the members posted: “The sooner we resolve this issue, the better because we will never keep quiet until we get to the bottom of this. Is it true that the MoU was not signed in the first place? If yes, what legal binding agreement is there?”
In response, the club’s former chairperson Noel Lipipa who is now the club’s director responsible for sales and marketing, told the group that the MoU was indeed not signed but an agreement had been reached during a board meeting held on Tuesday to meet lawyers from both parties yesterday on the matter.
“We are meeting the two lawyers [one from each side] that handled the process so that they can clarify on the legal biding document that was presented to the courts.
“We have also agreed that after this is done, the signing [of the MoU] should be done in less than 21 days [from the day of the meeting],” posted Lipipa.
However, in an interview yesterday, Lipipa clarified that the hitch came about because of the way documents were handled.
“The MoU was not signed because it was superseded by a memorandum of agreement [MoA] which was part of the documents that were presented to the courts as part of the deal.
“Nevertheless, the situation will be normalised and the MoU will be signed,” he said.
But while confirming that the club had a board meeting on Tuesday, the club’s chief executive officer Fleetwood Haiya yesterday claimed he was not aware of the MoU issue.
“The issues highlighted at the meeting were about our preparations for the 2018 season, how our 20-day nationwide tour is progressing, what we need for the board to assist in terms of budget and how we should proceed with our commercialisation drive,” he said.
On his part, Bullets main supporters committee general secretary (GS) Mabvuto Chibambo said: “The arrangement was that the MoU would be signed during the official handover to the Nyasa, which has not yet taken place.
“There are just a few individuals who are trying to blow this issue out of proportion to advance their personal interests, otherwise there is no serious issue.
“In fact, we should be grateful to Nyasa that they started meeting some of the conditions in the MoU before it has even been signed.
“My appeal to all Bullets followers is that let us safeguard this deal for the good of our team,” he said.
However, reacting to the development, the club’s former GS Harold Fote said: “The development vindicates some of us who all along have been arguing that this deal was rushed as supporters were not given an opportunity to give their input into the MoU which was never there.
“We demanded public scrutiny of the document. There was no way we would dispose of a big club like Bullets without first undertaking due diligence which would inform the nature and magnitude of investment, but this was not done,” he said.
Part of the MoU entails that NMC will buy a team bus, build a stadium (of not less than 10 000 capacity), three club houses, a football academy and a training ground. n