Chaos at Nomads
Barely a day after Be Forward Wanderers main executive committee elections held on Sunday, one of the club’s treasurer position contestants Dave Pemba has pulled out.
In a letter dated February 10 2020, addressed to the club’s board of trustees, executive and supporters committees, Pemba said: “I have opted to be a mere executive member and leave the treasurer post to my colleague Mphatso Jika after consultations with my family members.”
Nomads new general secretary Victor Maunde yesterday acknowledged receipt of Pemba’s withdrawal letter.
“Yes, it is true that Pemba has resigned. We have accepted his resignation and this means that Jika has been confirmed as the new treasurer.
Pemba and Jika faced-off in a tightly contested battle whose results were shelved following tensions between their supporters as both parties claimed victory.
Meanwhile, newly-elected Be Forward Wanderers chairperson Simon Sikwese has said the Nomads will no longer deal with loan sharks (akatapila).
The new chairperson, who was ushered in unopposed during elections held on Sunday, said the usury (katapila) practice was taking a toll on the club’s finances, leading to huge debts. Usury is the practice of lending money at higher than normal interest rates.
“We will have to do away with the practice as part of instilling financial discipline in the team,” he said.
Sikwese also stressed that the new committee will only inherit “verified and validated debts”.
He said: “It is easy to say the club has a K200 million debt, but if there is no concrete evidence, then we are not going to be responsible for that.”
And in an interview with the media after the elections, immediate-past treasurer Robert Mbedza admitted that the Nomads were operating beyond their means.
“The club would borrow money at exorbitant rates from loan sharks, as we were charged 50 percent interest,” he said.
On his part, Sikwese’s predecessor Gift Mkandawire urged the new committee to operate within its means.
The Nomads reportedly owe loan sharks in excess of K8 million.
The club also allegedly owes its board of trustees chairperson Rashid ‘Rashy’ Gaffar and Mkandawire about K72 million and K60 million, respectively.
Football analyst George Kaudza Masina said: “The new executive committee should start on a clean slate. They should only inherit debts that are aunthentic. “What Gaffar and Mkandawire did to lend the club money was also not right no matter the circumstances because there was an element of conflict of interest and if anything, being individuals who love the team, they should write off the debts.”
