Big Bullets board of trustees secretary Kinnah Phiri has warned the executive committee against failing to attend today’s meeting.
He says they risk being suspended if they do not show up for the meeting scheduled for this evening at Shire Highlands Hotel in Limbe.
Bullets trustees, in particular Kinnah who is also the club’s patron, want the executive committee to account for the team’s finances.
But the People’s Team chairperson Malinda Chinyama on Monday laughed off Kinnah’s warning.
Said Kinnah: “We have called them three times, but they have ignored the meetings. We are now giving them one final chance to come and present the accounts on Tuesday, failing which, they will be suspended.
He claimed the board has information that the executive committee has already exhausted the first K5 million (about $20 000) tranche they received from Carlsberg Malawi.
“Players are being owed dues and in turn, they are taking us to task and that is why we have intervened. It is not like we want to interfere with the operations of the team.
“If they explain the accounts, then we will engage independent auditors to go through the books because we do not want to lose this hard-earned sponsorship,” said Kinnah.
He said he has intervened in the matter in his capacity as patron and trustees secretary.
Board chairperson James Busile shared Kinnah’s sentiments: “It is not like we want to take over the running of the team, but players are complaining that they are not getting their dues; hence the intervention.”
But Chinyama said the accounts were already prepared and were supposed to be presented to the trustees and supporters committee last Saturday.
“The accounts that they are talking about were prepared and we called the trustees and the supporters committee to a meeting on Saturday at a hotel in Blantyre.
“To our surprise, none of the trustees, including Kinnah and Busile, showed up. Nevertheless, we still presented the accounts to the supporters committee and you can even cross-check with them.
“We have absolutely nothing to hide. My feeling is that Kinnah is now getting personal. He has a hidden motive,” alleged Chinyama.
However, Chinyama could not say whether the executive committee will attend today’s meeting or not.
“My argument is that what will be the purpose of the meeting when we already presented the accounts?” Chinyama wondered.
But both Busile and Kinnah expressed ignorance of Saturday’s meeting.
Said Busile: “It is not true that the executive committee called us for a meeting. What I know is that when I met them last week, they assured me that they would give us a copy of the accounts for our perusal ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, but they did not.”
The club’s supporters committee chairperson Geoff Mbalati threw his weight behind the executive.
“It is sad that the situation has reached this point. This whole confusion is coming about because Kinnah wants to interfere with the running of the club. The executive committee called for a meeting last Saturday, but the trustees did not show up for unexplained reasons. The accounts were well detailed.
“Our fear is that the wrangles might affect the sponsorship and the performance of the team,” said Mbalati.
