FAM orders Luso TV to fix bus
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has ordered Luso TV to fix the Nissan Caravan bus before it can be officially handed over to Be Forward Wanderers.
The Nomads won the 26-seater bus after beating their age-old rivals Nyasa Big Bullets 5-1 on aggregate during the two-legged Bus Ipite Bonanza which the television station organised.
But the bus broke down at Manjawira in Ntcheu along the Zalewa Road barely a day after the Nomads completed the triumph at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
At the time of the breakdown, the triumphant Nomads players were aboard their new bus.
FAM general secretary (GS) Alfred Gunda yesterday said Luso TV will be responsible for the vehicle’s repairs since it had not been officially handed over to the Nomads.
“First, the vehicle has not yet been registered with the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services and, consequently, that means it is yet to be certified fit.
“So, we take it that the bus is still in the hands of Luso TV until the registration process is done,” he said.
The FAM GS further claimed that when Luso TV management handed over the bus to them, they engaged a mechanic to test-drive it and establish if it was indeed in good condition.
“But what the mechanic told us was that there was need for a thorough service and examination before it could be handed over to the winning team.
“We communicated this information to the organisers, mindful of the fact that the vehicle had to be at the venue of the second leg tie for symbolic presentation,” he said.
Luso TV station manager Dick Juma confirmed having given an undertaking to have the bus serviced.
“Yes, it is true and we are liaising with Be Forward Limited from whom we bought the bus,” he said yesterday.
However, in an earlier interview on Tuesday evening, Juma said when the vehicle was being handed over to FAM, “it had been examined and test driven by a qualified mechanic who certified it as being in good condition”.
Wanderers GS Mike Butao on Tuesday confirmed the arrangement.
“We have already agreed with Luso TV and FAM on the way forward. They will sort it out before they officially hand it over to us,” he said.
Yesterday, the bus was seen at local Nissan franchise dealer Nissan Malawi’s premises opposite Mwaiwathu Private Hospital in Blantyre. n
