Zimbabwean
Written by Grace Chirumanzu
Friday, 26 February 2010
To many a basketball fan the raging feud between Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) chairman Addison Chiware and one of the local game’s powerbrokers, Roderick Takawira, might appear fuelled more by a clash of personalities than issues pertinent to the game.
But in an interview last week with The Zimbabwean on Sunday’s Grace Chirumanzu, Takawira maintained that at stake in his wrangle with Chiware was the future of the national game itself. Takawira insisted that bad governance at the national union was the root cause of his quarrel with Chiware.
Excerpts:
Grace Chirumanzu (GC): A big concern for both teams is whether their players are eligible for inclusion in national sides and whether they can take part in international matches but the teams in your league appear not to have been swayed by these considerations. To what do you attribute this unwavering support by the teams?
Roderick Takawira (RT): We have gone to great lengths to advise teams in our league with aspirations to play in the BUZ league and players wanting to turn out for the national teams that we are not going to stand in their way. But basketball cannot continue to be run like a “tuck-shop,†only good governance and transparency will translate to better basketball for all. It may be more enticing for the younger players who feel they may be losing out by not participating in these competitions; but it would be like taking a painkiller for a broken leg to get temporal relief which does not fix the fracture which is the cause of the pain. There are claims that basketball has improved since the current BUZ committee took over about six years ago? But this is not supported by the facts on the ground.
GC: What exactly do you mean?
RT: There is a difference between playing more international matches and playing competitively in those matches. We have more international games played by Zimbabwean teams but if one asks the question which team in Zimbabwe has significantly improved from participating in these internationals? Not one!
In fact, Zimbabwe now has only two provinces playing basketball as opposed to five back in the days when (Bobby) Chivaviro, (Admire) Masenda and Andrews were BUZ chairmen. The national teams selected from these provinces used to compete very favourably against the regional teams. Countries like Zambia and South Africa were no match. Zimbabwe could give Mozambique and Angola a run for their money. In the 1995 All Africa Games, Zimbabwe lost to a full strength Angola by 12 points. That is the best performance by any Zimbabwean team ever against Angola. Now our national teams are just whipping boys; we even struggle against Zambia and we are no match to South Africa.
GC: The Sports and Recreation Commission and the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee recognise the Chiware-led BUZ committee which in turn does not recognise your league, a situation that clearly should make your league less appealing to players and teams but this is not quite the case because you still have good teams playing in your, why?
RT: It maybe that the teams have noted that if they allow this slide to continue Zimbabwe basketball will become a joke and our teams will continue to be nothing more than tourists on regional shopping trips. I believe the teams have stayed (with us) so far because they recognise the need to take a stand against bad governance and lack of transparency and go back to basics to fix the fundamentals that will make this sport successful. I am sure there are many teams in our league that would like to play in the club championships and have their players in the national team, but not with the current set up at the national level. Former Gunners Football Club coach Moses Chunga clearly said if Zimbabwe is going to send any national team for any international matches, it must be a team that comprises the cream of the country with good preparation. Cream means any Zimbabwean endowed with great skills, so BUZ should not blackmail players with threats of exclusion. It is unacceptable in any sport and the powers that be must take a stand against anyone and any sport that uses blackmail to win support.
GC: In your view what needs to be done tackle the problem of bad governance in basketball?
RT: It is up to the minister of sport, David Coltart, to look at the situation and issues in basketball and take measures to bring the sport back to normal. He needs to find out how a national association (BUZ) can go for six years without (ever producing audited accounts for a single year)? How one man can be coaching virtually all the national teams? How an AGM is conducted with representatives from provinces where there is no basketball?
GC: What do you say to suggestions that you and Magezah (Gilchrest of the other league) should to sit down and iron out your differences for the sake of the game?
RT: It is important that you understand that Magezah has never been the problem at all, only a result of it. The problem of basketball is the current BUZ. When you focus on Magezah you turn away from the problem and invariably from where the solution lies. For basketball to survive and flourish once again it is important that we fix the fundamental problems. The issues of good governance and transparency will erode the soul of a sport. You can go and unite the leagues but you will be further from fixing the problem that bedevils basketball.