Open Equal Free
28 August 2012
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Education, Youth, and Sport, David Coltart, has recently revealed that US $90,000 was diverted from the education budget to cover the Zimbabwe Football Association’s (ZIFA’s) lodging debts. The move was made while Minister Coltart was attending the Olympics, and he only heard of it upon his return.
ZIFA has been facing financial trouble as of late and has recently been unable to fund a trip to Angola for the second round of a youth tournament qualifier. Teams have had to train in sub-par facilities, putting them at increased risk of injury due to uneven and unkept grounds. Coltart and the ministry have come under fire for not supporting the much-loved sport.
“It is intolerable that a sport which should be self-financing, such as Football, is in such a chaotic state that funds we can ill afford to divert from education and other sports have to be spent in this manner, bailing out ZIFA,†said Coltart. He further insisted that it is not the responsibility of the ministry to divert needed funds from education to support ZIFA, an independent organization.
Many say the simple fact that the minister was unaware of the diversion of funds points to a grave situation within the coalition government. With officials making decisions without other coalition members being involved, this may simply be a sign of the government’s lack of cohesion and overall chaos.