Minister assures Flames on allowances
Minister of Youth and Sports Uchizi Mkandawire has urged Flames players to focus their attention on today’s 2023 Africa Cup Nations qualifier against Egypt’s Pharaohs instead of off pitch issues.
The minister said this in an interview yesterday after meeting the players in Lilongwe to assure them that the issue of their external travel allowances was being looked into.
He met the players after they demanded their allowances amounting to K41 million.
Said Mkandawire: “I first spoke to FAM [Football Association of Malawi] president Walter [Nyamilandu] after being briefed about the issue by the Sports Council board chairperson [Sunduzwayo Madise].
“The issue is that as a ministry, we did our part. When council wrote us, we took it up with Treasury and I even followed it up with the Minister of Finance [Sosten Gwengwe], who only got the request about the funding on Friday.
“He [Gwengwe] has spent most of the recent days in Blantyre due to the Cyclone Freddie crisis which we have and, as such, we had to understand his situation.”
Mkandawire said the issue of Flames allowances will, therefore, be sorted out.
“So, later on, I met the players to wish them good luck for tomorrow [today] and I asked them to focus on the match.
“Let them go and play tomorrow and, hopefully, we will win.”
Nyamilandu said in an interview that the issue was addressed.
He said: “It has been resolved through the intervention of the Ministry of Sports, who have bailed us out by assuring the players that the funds will be rel;eased today to settle their arrears. So, the issue is now under control.”
In a separate interview, Madise said on their part, they are waiting to hear from Treasury to advise on the extra budgetary which they sent.
He said: “Our focus is not just the allowances, but the whole package that was submitted as a request.
“Issues of allowances or contractual matters are between our affiliate FAM and the players.
“But this, I must say, and say clearly and unequivocally as council, we are extremely unhappy with the information that players boycotted training.
“I have said it time and again that government doesn’t owe any athlete bona fide allowances due to them. Government always pays.
“And with events that have happened following the devastation of Cyclone Freddy, I am at pains to appreciate why our players cannot appreciate the situation and be more accommodating.
“Should we really be having this discussion over a few days delay when we know government’s priority maybe to ensure that our fellow Malawians who have been hard-hit by the cyclone are taken care of first? Are our players blind to the reality on the ground?”
