CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS BY THE ZIMBABWE CRICKET BOARD

HON. SEN. TIMVEOS: I move the motion in my name that this

House –

CONCERNED with the allegations of corruption by the Zimbabwe Cricket Board whose affairs are currently managed by the Chairman of the Board.

COGNISANT of the need to restore the integrity and ensure good corporate governance and professionalism by the Board.

NOW THEREFORE, calls upon the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation to ensure-

(i) There are mechanisms in place to prevent abuse of the funds of the

Board by the Management; and

(ii) Elections of officials to the Board are conducted in a

transparent manner.

HON. SEN. MAVETERA: I second.

HON. SEN. TIMVEOS: Thank you Mr. President. This debate is intended to create awareness and inform this august House of the true state of cricket in Zimbabwe and the urgent need for action to be taken. Mr. President, Zimbabwe is losing players on a regular basis and if action is not taken soon, it is likely that many of our country chevrons and other factor players will seek more attractive opportunities and leave the game in Zimbabwe forever, which some have already done. In order to understand the issues and problems that face cricket today, it is crucial that one simple undisputable fact is brought to the forefront of this debate. This fact is simple because cricket in Zimbabwe was a successful vibrant, crucial and financially sound entity that brought pride and honour to Zimbabwe as a nation prior to 2004. This cannot be argued. Our national team played the full test programme and around the world and had twice gone past the group stages at the World Cup finals into the super six stages.

Our young Zimbabwean men competed on the world stage and won series in Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand. Brian Lala, the West Indies Captain told a Press Conference in 2003 that Zimbabwe could no longer be considered Minnows in World Cricket and that any team in the world that played Zimbabwe would face fierce competition but alas not today. The state of cricket in the country was sound and vibrant. Our clubs were active and the game was thriving in schools and most importantly, the national controlling body, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union was in sound financial health. If we fast forward to 2018, the picture is completely different. Between 2004 and 2018, cricket in Zimbabwe has been on a steady downward spiral.

Zimbabwe Cricket went from playing a full and active part in the Future Tours Programme of the ICC as a full member country, to hardly playing test cricket and indeed, suffering a self imposed exile from test cricket altogether. Even after its reintroduction to the test arena, Zimbabwean has played a miniscule role in the world of test cricket.

Club Cricket in Zimbabwe is in a complete and utter mess. There is no doubt that the Chairman and Board of Zimbabwe Cricket will disagree. However, as of the 3rd December, no league cricket has been played at all in Mutare or Masvingo and only a couple of rounds have been played in Bulawayo and Harare. In a country where Cricket has for decades started its season in September, the current ZC administration has been unable to even start League Cricket in 3 out of 5 main provinces.

ZC has chosen to start League Cricket in Harare and Bulawayo in November. They claim this decision was made after consultation with their South African Consultant, Vince Van Der Bijl but in reality it is simply because ZC still does not have enough money to actually meet legitimate expenses involved in League Cricket. Zimbabwe Cricket has proudly advised the nation that it has resolved its financial crisis yet it cannot afford to pay for cricket balls to allow League Cricket to take place. In Bulawayo, it provides one cricket ball for two teams to play with, and it cannot afford to repair rotting facilities or pay groundsmen owed money from 2015. There is one simple and apparent reason for the decline in Zimbabwe.

The current issues facing Zimbabwe Cricket are many and complex. These need to be made public and the Chairman and Board of Zimbabwe Cricket need to be held accountable.

A debt currently amounting to over US$13 million, this is despite a bailout plan from the Zimbabwe Asset Management Company who effectively cut 30% of ZC’s debt. This bailout plan would not have been necessary if Zimbabwe Cricket had correctly used to funds supplied by the ICC in 2012 to retire the Met Bank overdraft. Instead of retiring the Met Bank overdraft, the funds were instead placed in another Met bank account allegedly benefitting the board that was led by Ozias Bvute. It should be noted that Mr. Ozias Bvute was the Managing Director of Zimbabwe Cricket at this time as well as a director of Met Bank. The Chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket at the time was Mr. Peter Chingoka who was also a Met Bank Director and the current ZC Chairman, Mr. Tawengwa Mukuhlani was a ZC Board member at the time.

The ICC complained at the incorrect use of the funds supplied and eventually the original Met bank overdraft was retired, but only after Zimbabwe Cricket was prejudiced by over US$600 000.00. The financial mismanagement is astounding over the period 2004-2018. Zimbabwe Cricket could have easily moved the local liability offshore with the support of the ICC to access far lower and less punitive interest rates. Instead, it chose to remain indebted to local banks (mainly Met Bank). Please note that they allegedly chose to remain with Met Bank specifically to benefit the board members because a comparison with other banks would clearly show that Met Bank offered one of the highest interest rates on loans and much a lower rate on investment.

Mr. President Sir, due diligence was thrown out of the window because of the fact that board members of ZC were also board members of Met Bank. The issues of conflict of interest were not even considered when entering into a relationship. The facts are facts and it cannot be disputed that this was done to allow Met Bank and the aforementioned ZC directors among others to farm interest. The prejudice to Zimbabwe Cricket over this period runs into many millions of dollars. Despite the loan facilities running into millions, ZC continued to receive funding from the ICC, yet no improvement in facilities or standards was seen. This key income from ICC disbursements and loans was mysteriously unable to meet ZC expenses which should have drastically dropped since the National Team was not playing very much international cricket. Prior to 2004, Zimbabwe Cricket was debt free and a success…

Deliberate Financial Mismanagement is the root cause of the decline in Zimbabwe Cricket and remains a major issue facing the game to this day. The inconvenient question that must be asked and answered by the board that is running cricket right now is that ZC is earning more now than it ever has in the past. With ICC disbursements, loans taken, and downsizing staff to levels far beneath 2004 – how is it possible that the organisation cannot pay bills that were easily met and managed by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union?

It is time that something was done about this. A second and equally glaring issue currently affecting cricket in Zimbabwe is the fact that the national organisation is largely devoid of any actual cricket expertise. Not a single board director has ever played First Class or international cricket. The management of the national body are also largely without cricket experience. This lack of knowledge and experience is apparent through the continued poor decision making that this body has become famous for. Further to this shortfall, the national organisation has deliberately and systematically forced anyone with experience in the game as either a player or administrator out of the game. With a proud history in the game, ZC should be full of individuals with massive experience who are respected by the International Community.

The list of persons who have been forced out of Zimbabwe Cricket is astounding and too long to list here. However, if anyone thinks of a past Zimbabwe hero on the cricket field, it is almost certain that he is not in any way currently involved with Zimbabwe Cricket. This lack of knowledge has caused major shortfalls in the administration of the game in Zimbabwe and tragically in the development of the game from grass roots to school level to Club and First Class level.

Mr. President Sir, the failure of Zimbabwe to qualify for the Cricket World Cup 2019 was not a failure by the National Team, but instead was the culmination of years of mismanagement and poor governance and the fault for this lies with the board at this moment in time.

The Chairman who is currently chairing the board at the moment has been there since 2015 up to now and has made ample opportunity to halt and have had ample opportunity to halt the decay. He is part of the reason why and for that reason cannot be part of the solution to the problems faced. Can a person who has been involved in and been part of the rot, decay and corruption that has dogged Zimbabwe Cricket since 2004 be considered as a viable leader to take ZC out of the hole that they themselves have dug.

The list of clubs that have folded or disappeared since his involvement is long. There is no doubt that ZC will point to their list of registered clubs as a sign that cricket is healthy. However, when one takes into account that most of these clubs have no home grounds and no access to practice facilities then the true picture of the Zimbabwe Cricket landscape comes into focus. When it is understood that such pillars of cricket as Old Georgians, Alexandra, Old Miltonians, Bulawayo Sports Club have not only disappeared from leagues around Zimbabwe but their facilities have decayed and rotted to the extent that they cannot be used, then an accurate picture will start to form. This is yet another shortfall of the current regime indicative of the fact that the board and management have absolutely no idea on how to manage the game in Zimbabwe. An even bigger indictment of the ZC system is the fact that of all the clubs registered in Zimbabwe, only a very few actually have access to any facility to practice at or call their home ground.

If the Hon. Senators can take a few seconds to imagine playing a sport at club level for a team that has no home ground, no access to any field or ground to practice on and only getting to actually play the game once a week, with poor quality balls, no umpires and very little kit, then perhaps they will begin to understand how low the game has sunk.

Many Members of this august House will have children at primary and secondary schools but most of these children will report that their schools do not play cricket. The obvious exception to this are private or trust schools where cricket has in fact survived and thrived. The reason for this is very obvious, ZC have very little to do with the private school cricket. If we examine school cricket, it very quickly becomes obvious that ZC has neglected cricket in this area as well. A huge number of schools have stopped playing the game while proud schools such as Milton and Victoria High no longer have fields to play or practice on. Zimbabwe cricket has failed to develop the game at any level.

Mr. President Sir, in summary the major issue which have faced Zimbabwe Cricket since 2004 and which still plague the national body are:-

· Severe financial mismanagement and a lack of transparency. Mismanagement is a misnomer as in many cases the misuse of funds has been deliberate and fore planned;

· A complete lack of effective planning and a failure to develop the game at grass roots, school or club level;

· An absence of any form of maintenance for national or club facilities (it required a bail out by the ICC to bring HSC, Queens and Kwekwe back to international standard;

A lack of cohesive club structures and no support system for schools or clubs;

· No experience in the game at a high level is present in the board;

· There has been little or no desire to improve Zimbabwe Cricket or grow the game but instead it is seen as a cash cow and chairmen (past and present) and board members are involved for personal enrichment rather than the good of the game or national pride.

All of the above issues combined make up a lethal cocktail which has led a vibrant national sport from a position of respect in World Cricket to the very brink of suspension from which the ICC and disgrace in World Cricket. This is due to the greed and incompetency of a few individuals.

Mr. President Sir, there are solutions to all the above problems:-

· The very first step is that there has to be the will and desire to expose these issues in order to resolve them and ensure they do not and cannot occur again in the future;

· A commission of inquiry which should include a full and thorough forensic audit as well as an investigation into the conduct of Zimbabwe Cricket Board Members, chairmen and senior staff members should be established through the Sports and Recreation Commission but which should include ICC representation in order to ensure the World Cricket body is in involved in the process and transparency is maintained. The sport and organisation are not to blame but the individuals responsible should and must be brought to book. A number of past board members have expressed the desire to provide information and statements;

· There should be a full disclosure of the debt, who was borrowed what amounts, what was the money used for, how much is owed to the players, whether the situation of using ZC’s Board Members houses are collateral against loans borrowed by ZC, a clear assessment of the funds used from used from ICC against the ZC strategic plan and a clear road map on how to repay the debts;

· The Sports and Recreation Commission should be directed by the Minister of Sport to engage all stakeholders in the sport of cricket with a view to rewriting the constitution of the Zimbabwean Cricket and all provincial cricket associations in order to create an inclusive constitution which caters for all stakeholders and ensure the rights of all stakeholders as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Zimbabwe. It is once again important to include the ICC in this process to ensure support and understanding on the part of the world body;

· A new board and chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket should be elected in accordance with the new constitution;

· The new board should consist of persons who have experience in cricket administration, ex first class or international players who are of reputable character and respected both locally and within international cricket circles;

· The new constitution should include provision for a players association;

· The new board should work with the Minister of Sport and the Sport and Recreation Commission to create a sound and efficient model to grow the game of cricket within Zimbabwe which will encourage commercial corporate involvement. There should be a clear policy in the model on developing the game from grassroots level on player retention programmes and career advancement. Such a model should include strict guidelines for national sporting organisations which will govern and control financial management practices and ensure that contravention of such controls will result in criminal prosecution.

The new Zimbabwe Cricket Board should seek to engage and interact with as many past players and administrators as possible in order to create a professional structure populated with experience and qualified personnel.

Mr. President, this debate is necessary and vital. As Zimbabwean lawmakers and leaders, we as Members of Parliament, elected by our constituents must challenge any entity or body that fails to deliver excellence. We can through this debate ensure that the leaders of our sporting organisations understand their responsibility to the nation.

Bearing in mind that sport is both a business and a career, this debate is pertinent for the development of this country in all spheres of economic development such as the contribution of sport to the country’s GDP, creation of employment and having a healthy nation.

The question that must be asked of this House is – can an organisation surrounded by continuous allegations of corrupt activity, mismanagement and nepotism for a period of 14 years be allowed to continue along the same path without action being taken? I do not think so Hon. Members. I thank you.

I move that the debate do now adjourn.

HON. SEN. MAVETERA: I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Thursday, 20th December, 2018.