ZIFA staff grab gate takings to pay off their outstanding salaries

Unpaid Zifa workers on Sunday grabbed $23,000 from gate takings realised during the game against Malawi.

The association’s finance manager Benjamin Dewa and competitions manager Winston Mabande hatched a plan to confiscate proceeds from the gate takings meant for the organisation.

The sources said after hearing that Zifa had been dissolved and replaced by the National Football Association of Zimbabwe at an extraordinary general meeting on Saturday, Mabande and Dewa decided to “pay” themselves after Sunday’s game.

“Zifa officials were left panicking after learning that Dewa and Mabande hadn’t cashed in money they collected at the stadium on behalf of the association. 

They thought since Zifa had been dissolved they’re going to lose their outstanding salaries and allowances so they decided to get the money from the gates after all service providers had been paid,” said the source.

“What further fuelled the duo’s act is that all the employees were told that they should reapply for their posts, and with the possibility of not being re-engaged by the new association, Mabande and Dewa took matters into their hands. That set panic buttons in the board and they spent the better part of the morning (yesterday) trying to locate Dewa and Mabande so they pay back the money they took.”

According to the sources, Zifa owes its employees up to 20 months in salary arrears and following the decision to declare the association insolvent, workers fear they will not be paid their dues.

Source: Herald