The Chronicle
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS Football Club chief executive officer Ronald Moyo has been told to step up and take charge of the secretariat, with the club’s leadership convinced that accounting problems manifesting could have been avoided if he was in control.
Chronicle Sport has it on good authority that Moyo was bashed at the club’s crisis meeting held on Saturday, with management partly blaming the CEO for the lax in completion of the accounts which by now should have been presented to the auditors.
The Highlanders board and executive have been holding marathon meetings in a bid to bring their financials in the earliest possible time following pressure from members. On Saturday, they were jointly meeting for the third time since the Annual General Meeting, a frequency that shows that all is not well at Highlanders.
“The CEO was clearly told that as the head of secretariat, he should have control of his team and that means he should be supervising those who are under him to deliver. The general feeling is that if the CEO is weak, then the secretariat is weak as well and that is why we find ourselves in this whole accounting mess. He (Moyo) was told that the finance officer should have concluded making those account entries that are needed by the auditors,” said the source.
The board and the executive also blamed Moyo for not responding to media inquiries, arguing that this was the reason why the information was leaking. Highlanders’ leadership feels that the CEO should lead the narrative on Highlanders issues.
Bonafide members will have to wait longer to receive audited financial statements for the year ending December 31 2022 after it emerged that the auditors are yet to receive documents they requested.
The club failed to produce audited financial statements at their January 29 Annual General Meeting, promising that their external auditors needed between three to four weeks to wrap up the process.
An emergency meeting involving Highlanders’ executive, board and the auditors was held last Wednesday, where the club’s executive had said they needed up to April 26 to conclude their accounts and present them to members.
The crisis meeting held on Saturday resolved that those working on the financials should move with speed, with the hope of presenting audited financials before the end of March.
The board, reportedly concerned with the snail pace in wrapping up the accounts before handing them over to the auditors, wantS the treasurer Busani Mthombeni and his accounts team to expedite capturing data with Moyo making sure that things run smoothly in the office.
There are concerns that the snail pace could send an impression that figures are being cooked right under the nose of the CEO.
Busani MthombeniHowever, what makes Moyo’s situation complex is that according to Highlanders’ constitution, he can’t preside over the financials as that is the role of the treasurer.
Presently, the Highlanders CEO is a “glorified clerk” and that can only change when the club amends its constitution where the duties of the head of secretariat are clearly spelt out in line with Fifa/Caf dictates.In terms of article 22.3 of the Highlanders constitution, which was adopted in January 2006 “The Chief Executive Officer shall implement decisions of the executive committee and shall report directly to the executive committee.”
Highlanders last year appointed a committee to amend the club’s constitution in line with Caf club licencing requirements. If the amendments are approved by members, whoever occupies the post of CEO at Highlanders will have their responsibilities spelt out as required by Fifa on how to run the club, making them a club signatory and responsible for all the club’s correspondence presently done by the secretary.
Bosso spokesperson Nozibelo MaphosaContacted for comment, Highlanders’ spokesperson Nozibelo Maphosa said: “We don’t share internal meetings resolutions. In cases where there is need to do so, we call press conference or issue statements.” — @ZililoR
