Trustees block BB ownership change

Nyasa Big Bullets board of trustees on Sunday night shot down proposals to transfer the club’s ownership to current sponsors Nyasa Manufacturing Company (NMC).

The trustees turned down the proposal during the club’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held in Lilongwe, arguing that it is impossible to change ownership because the club was registered under the Trustees Incorporation Act.

After some delegates had tabled a motion to transfer the ownership, the board of trustees through its vice-secretary Victor Msowoya said  the Act under which the club was registered does not allow transferring of ownership.

In an interview with later on, Msowoya said the board resolved to sell minority shares to any institution that would be willing to invest in the club.

“Total ownership change is a non-starter. However, an agreement will be made at a later stage where a certain percentage say 20 or 30 percent can be bought by any investor, but we are not particularly targeting to sell the shares to Nyasa,” he said.

To incorporate a minority shareholder, Msowoya said they will form a task force comprising members of the board, executive committee and supporters that will formalise the process.

However, lawyer Trouble Kalua has argued that it is possible to effect Bullets ownership takeover by changing its registration from a Trust to an entity or Limited Liability.

“It is not utterly impossible to transfer ownership. What is needed is that the club needs to deregister as a Trust because most of institutions registered under Trustees Incorporation Act are churches and charitable organisations.

“If deregistration has been effected then the club can be registered as a profit making institution either as an entity or a trust,” the lawyer said.

Kalua, who single-handedly administered the team at one point, further said that incorporating a minority shareholder, as the board plans, will not take place until the club has been registered as a limited or entity.

“In simpler terms, whichever direction the board and supporters want the club to take there is need to deregister it as a Trust,” he said.

Kalua also asked Bullets trustees to respect the wishes of the supporters who they represent.

“The board can make final decisions like this one. However, what it must know is that it represents supporters who appointed its members. If a majority of the supporters, for instance, have expressed a wish to change ownership the board must listen,” he said.

Bullets supporters have recently been pushing for the ownership to be transferred to the club’s sponsor NMC whose director Dimitri Kalaitzis expressed willingness to fully own the club if the board of trustees approved the move.

The supporters hope that the takeover would lead into NMC constructing a stadium, a club house and further improve its financial situation.