2018-04-05Staff Report 2 Carlos Kambaekwa Windhoek The Namibia Football Association (NFA) under-fire president Frans Mbidi has labelled damning accusations levelled against him as a deliberate witch-hunt to divert attention from his long-held wish to see the back of the association’s embattled secretary general Barry Rukoro. The NFA honcho stands accused of a horde of what he terms unsubstantiated claims ranging from a series of misconduct, misappropriation of funds and failure to convene executive meetings as per the NFA statutes. “The reason why we could not have regular meetings was the result of insufficient funds according to directives from the accounting officer,” Mbidi shoots back. Mbidi also put the record straight on his alleged money laundering claims that he has illegally pocketed an amount of U$20,000 (N$236,000 at current exchange rate). “CAF releases a yearly grant of U$100, 000 (N$1.18 million) of which U$20,000 is solely allocated to the association’s president for personal use. I only demanded money that I’m entitled to according to CAF standards,” he insists. The NFA president is also fingered of receiving double payments whenever he undertook foreign trips. “That’s a total lie. We have a standard rule within the NFA whereby any member travelling outside the country including the secretary general receives an ‘Out of Country Allowance Payment’ of U$1,000 (N$11,800), on top of the daily allowance from FIFA or any other parental associations,” he charges. Mbidi also denies that he wasted the association’s money campaigning for the CAF presidency. “We attended two information-chairing meetings in South Africa with the SG to foster closer relations with member affiliates within the Cosafa family.” He also shot down claims that he has failed the FIFA Election Integrity Check following his failed bid vying for a seat at the FIFA Council. “Let me put the record straight. FIFA asked me about my relationship with [the] catering company International Facilities Services (IFS) of which I’m a director. It should be noted that in Eurocentric terms, such involvement constitutes a conflict of interest,” he explains. The catering company was the principal sponsor of the Omaheke, Oshana and Omusati regional football leagues. In his parting shot, Mbidi has tongue in cheek challenged the NFA executive to institute charges against him for misconduct before moving their intendment motion of no confidence in his persona. 2018-04-05Staff Report 2
