TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL ZAMBIA DEMANDS PROOF OF PAYMENT FROM FAZ OVER ALLEGED MISUSE OF FUNDS
Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) has challenged the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) to provide proof of payment regarding allegations of money spent on two non-FAZ officials sent by the Association as Advance Party during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. This challenge came after the Ministry of Sport wrote a letter challenging FAZ to refund over K300,000 spent on the officials, which were not officially sanctioned by FAZ.
Maurice Nyambe, Executive Director of TIZ, called on FAZ to provide a comprehensive statement on the matter, including who made the decision to include the non-FAZ officials in the advance party at government’s expense. Nyambe further called on Sports Minister Elvis Nkandu to clarify the administrative action to be taken in resolving the issue.
TIZ has urged law enforcement agencies to take an interest in the matter to ascertain whether there is anything worthy of investigating. This call for transparency and accountability from FAZ by TIZ is in line with the mandate of TIZ as a watchdog for corruption and misuse of public funds.
In response, when FAZ General Secretary, Reuben Kamanga, was contacted for a comment, he said that the matter had been amicably resolved between the two parties. However, TIZ maintains that proof of payment is necessary to ensure that there has not been any corruption or misuse of funds. Transparency and accountability are essential in ensuring public funds are utilized effectively.