#zimbabwe H’landers constitution comes first ift.tt/1zX93Fw Sikhumbuzo Moyo Off the ball IT has been reported that some Highlanders bona fide members are pushing through a petition for an early annual general meeting. Reports say the early annual general meeting pushers want to get at least 100 signatures for their dream to come true.They want Highlanders Football Club to hold the annual general meeting soon after the end of the football season so that, they argue, the executive will have ample time to start preparations for the next season like hiring a coach. Highlanders life member Leeroy Maplanka is the group’s spokesperson and the mastermind behind the early annual general meeting call and he has been extensively quoted in the media giving reasons behind their action. One of the reasons is that having an early annual general meeting and effectively elections does away with a situation where an outgoing executive hires a coach. The argument holds water, yes but for how long no one knows. The Maplanka group also argues that Bosso’s problems are as a result of the failure to hold an early annual general meeting and subsequently elections. That too is more of a hypothesis than anything. They did not rule out that former coach Kelvin Kaindu was not in good books with the Peter Dube led executive committee hence his eventual departure. But many questions shall be asked about all this petition issue. Why can they not push their agenda through normal club constitutional processes like the general meeting coming up in January? What is the rush? It is known to all that there is always a provision to raise issues outside the main meeting agenda which Maplanka clearly knows and is aware of because his previous attempt to stage a similar coup on the board was turned down. Why do they not push their proposal during a constitutionally held annual general meeting and propose that a special constitution review meeting be called during mid season so that members will be given enough time to debate and think over the matter? Why should Highlanders members be held at ransom over such an important turn in the history of their club? No one is saying the contents of the petition are wrong and as such must be ignored but all that is needed is for the masterminds to follow known Highlanders ways instead of being unHighlanders, bringing in an alien culture in this great institution, probably for personal egos? They have denied that their intention is to get into office, which we cannot entirely believe. If say it is true that they are not eyeing any position, what can they lose if they just wait and present their petition at the proper annual general meeting next January? It is only two months away! Being bonafide members of Highlanders Football Club, one would expect that they are aware that the club now has an administrative head in Ndumiso Gumede. The executive is merely there to deal with policy issues while Gumede takes care of all administrative issues and that the board also now has a say in employment issues. Are they saying if Gumede’s contract is expiring or about to expire then elections have to be held or stopped simply because an incoming executive might not like him or whoever will be the new chief executive officer? With the club licensing system coming into effect, executive posts will soon be ceremonial although strategic. Yes, things have not been going well for the main Strategic Business Unit, the football club, but members must not lose focus and make knee jerk decisions that might come back to haunt Highlanders in future. Being dramatic and coming up with a petition idea is every member’s right but as already stated, it must be presented at a proper forum. Being rebellious against your own system might prove deadly in future. After Kaindu left, the executive said they could not hire a coach because elections were around the corner and therefore promoted assistant Mark Mathe. If Maplanka and company are genuinely concerned about that, they could have pushed the executive to hire a coach because the coach works for the club not executive. If Dube and company are set to lose elections or win them, they will still do so, now, next month or in January. Time, really is not an issue here. I personally do not think it is for the good of Highlanders to make emotional and sometime irrational decisions simply because someone wants to look back in future and say “it was me who masterminded that”. We know some of the people pushing the petition agenda have a long history of losing elections. These individuals have repeatedly been denied the opportunity to preside over Bosso issues by the electorate hence have resorted to the petition in order to remain relevant. People are hurt out there, that is a fact but that anger cannot be an excuse to introduce an alien culture in the Bosso family. That agenda can still be pushed through proper club systems and still be a resounding success. We all know that had Maplanka followed the right channel in his previous attempt on the board, he could have succeeded. When all has been said and done, the constitution states that for a petition to sail through two thirds of members must sign it. Bosso has more than 4,000 paid up members. It does not need a rocket scientist to understand what that means. ift.tt/eA8V8J
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 03:09:58 +0000
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