Khomas region excom under fire

Dissatisfied Khomas second division football clubs have been urged to elect a new executive committee after they raised grievances and concerns about missing funds to the Namibia Football Association. 

The Khomas Second Division was already concluded two months ago, but none of the 16 clubs received their start-up capital for the first round from the NFA amounting to N$9 600 each or a total of N$153 000.

After the first round was concluded in April, several clubs complained to the NFA about the missing funds, and the motherbody then intervened by paying the funds for the second round directly into the clubs’ accounts. 

According to Hermanus Naobeb, co-founder of one of the Khomas second division clubs, Swallows Football Club, they were also owed funds from previous years, but after sending numerous emails to the chairman of the Khomas Football Region, Peter Ndjulu, they received no reply. After complaining to the NFA, they decided to take the matter into their own hands, and reported the matter to the Anti-Corruption Commission of Namibia unit last month. 

“The NFA advised us to take ownership of the matter so we reported it to the ACC. The ACC said we must go to the NFA to get proof of payments by the NFA to Khomas and the reasons why the money was paid in, but we have not received a reply on this from the NFA yet,” Naobeb said. 

“I dont know why the NFA is so quiet about this. This is a criminal case and we all know that the money was stolen,” he added. 

The interim secretary general of the Namibia Football Association, Jochen Traut last week said they had written to the Khomas Football Region’s executive committee, advising them to hold an extraordinary annual congress, but that their request had fallen on deaf ears. 

“I would like to inform you that the general secretariat (of the NFA) was inundated with requests from your members that we intervene to get the Khomas Football Region executive committee to convene an extraordinary AGM,” the NFA’s league director Mabos Vries wrote to Ndjulu on 2 August. 

“We are in possession of letters written to you with signatures of the various chairpersons of the members of the Khomas region, expressing serious grievances and concerns that demand that your executive committee convenes an extraordinary annual general meeting,” he added. 

“In this regard the secretariat of the NFA gives your executive committee an official directive to convene and hold an extraordinary annual general meeting within seven working days. Failure to comply, you will leave the general secretariat with no option, but to further facilitate the process that will empower the members to hold the AGM,” Vries said. 

According to Traut, Ndjulu had, however, not replied to the letter or convened an extraordinary general meeting by 9 August, and he said the Khomas clubs should now take the matter further themselves.

“We twice called for a meeting with the Khomas Football Region executive committee, but they didn’t come. We cannot interfere in their affairs, but their aggrieved members can organise their own meeting and appoint a new executive committee as long as they don’t contravene their constitution,” he said. 

Regarding Naobeb’s claim that the NFA had not provided information to the ACC, Traut said they had not received such a request. 

“We havent received any formal directive from the ACC to submit that information – if they send that we can provide it,” he said. 

When contacted for comment, Ndjulu said he saw no reason why they should convene an extraordinary general meeting. 

“Did they say what they want to do in that election? Did they provide the agenda points and did they say what they want to discuss with us,” he asked.

“I acknowledge receipt of that letter from the NFA, where they are calling for an extraordinary general meeting, but without the agenda points I see no reason why we should attend it,” he added. 

Regarding the missing funds, Ndjulu said it was an internal matter. 

“It’s an internal matter that we have discussed with our members and I have already written a letter to the NFA about it,” he said.