Chingoka reappointment forced by politicians

The decision to reappoint Peter Chingoka as interim chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket after the board was suspended in January 2006 was forced upon the Sports & Recreation Commission, according to SRC chairman Gibson Mashingaidze.

There was widespread surprise when Chingoka was chosen to head an interim committee following the government's intervention to end weeks of challenges to the ZC leadership. Stakeholders had sought to oust Chingoka, and Ozias Bvute, the managing director, after making allegations of serious maladministration as well as financial impropriety.

But Mashingaidze told reporters in Kwekwe that Chingoka's reappointment had been "dictated to the commission" That was a clear indication that the government had forced the SRC to pick him. "There were politics in play," he added.

Mashingaidze went on to say that he hoped that the country's legal system would convict "those alleged to have misappropriated cricket funds," again a very thinly-veiled reference to the existing leadership.

After his reappointment, Chingoka ordered a forensic audit of the accounts but that report has never seen the light of day.

Mashingaidze also was outspoken over the government's interference in the SRC's duties as the supreme sports body in the country. He added that the commission is "better placed to appoint" officials when the need arose.