Haikali’s unshakable truth

LIMBA MUPETAMIWINDHOEKThe president of the Namibia Football Association (NFA), Ranga Haikali, says he will continue to work on building an institution based on the principles of transparency, trust and accountability.Haikali last year went to bed with the ‘devil’, in this case, the Progressive Forces (PF) members made up of former footballers and club owners, a decision which is now coming to haunt him.The PF are allegedly fixed on remote controlling Haikali who is adamant that no one will have that control over him. The PF according to Haikali also have a branch called the PF-Office.According to him., they are the brains behind the drafted letters which the secretary-general Franco Cosmos signs off.Cosmos is also accused by Haikali of having orchestrated a plan to appoint a PF member as a chief marketing officer. Haikali said he has proof that Cosmos last year (12 December) created a post for a chief marketing officer and on the 16th closed the applications and apparently had interviews during the time in which he was in isolation due to Covid-19. Then in January he made recommendations on a Whatsapp group as to the PF member to be hired.“Who chaired this interview – no one. Our integrity is at stake,” said Haikali. This is just the tip of the iceberg as a tender for N$2.5 million for a e-connect programme was planned to be awarded to a certain company without approval. Also, Cosmos allegedly also authorised private company to disinfect the NFA Soccer House for N$70 000 and N$55 000, which Haikali stopped, going rather for a N$3 000 tender.It is rumoured that the SG is no longer allowed to sign off any payments over N$50 000.Haikali speaksNamibian Sun caught Haikali on his way to the airport yesterday, en route to the Caf presidential election to be held in Rabat, Morocco, on Friday and he answered the glaring issue of relationships turning sour and explained why his so-called brothers have turned against him after so much effort was made to acquire him the seat.He said the PF has since last year being making attempts to overthrow him because he doesn’t agree with some of their moves and the way they want things to be done.He said they voted him into the seat but the agreement was that he does football justice.However, one issue which recently irked the PF was the fact that Haikali attended the Cosafa annual general meeting (AGM) alone on 21 February. At the meeting, members decided to back Mamelodi Sundowns billionaire owner Patrice Motsepe to take the Caf seat on the grounds that he is the son of the region.Ngarizemo calls out HaikaliOn the Sport Wrap show, Namibian Sun’s broadcast edition, Young African Football Club’s Mali Ngarizemo, who also belongs to the PF, alleged that Haikali went ahead and added Namibia’s vote to Motsepe’s cause without consulting his executive members.Ngarizemo said Haikali does not listen to advice or follow the constitution, and does what he wants.This, he said, will plunge the football association back into the chaos it was in a few years back under the leadership of former president Frans Mbidi and then secretary-general Barry Rukoro. Thus, the two’s relationship is also turning sour.“The problem is the president talks to so many people and sees the PF as outsiders. But they delivered him to the seat at his farm Okonjiima,” said Ngarizemo.He added, however, that there is still confidence in Haikali and that he has time to familiarise himself with the constitution.No one voted for MotsepeHaikali denied the allegation and said that the decision as to who Namibia will back was already made last year, together with the exco on the basis of Ahmed Ahmed’s continuity.Ahmed was found to have committed four breaches of the ethics code, received a fine in addition of his ban, was reinstated briefly and after deliberations his five-year ban was cut to two years but he will be unable to seek re-election.However, during the process of Ahmed’s dealings, Fifa had already made up their mind as to backing Motsepe and so did Cosafa members, who used their AGM to discuss the candidates and an agreement being secured following Fifa president Gianni Infantino conducting meetings with the candidates.The candidates decided to step down, accepting vice-president positions to make way for Motsepe. No voting took place as the latter stands unopposed.“When I was called to a meeting to propose the candidates I was already on holiday in Johannesburg with my family. I wrote a letter to the Whatsapp group where all the executives are, informing them of this. It was decided that only the presidents of associations will go in order to cut cost (hence the reason why the vice-president Isak Fredericks couldn’t make it) and the rest will call in, I was already in the country so the exco encouraged me to attend and to inform about what was discussed.“This was done on the exco Whatsapp group. Where did Ngarizemo get this info, he is not an exco member,” asked Haikali.He further said that the constitution gives him the authority to deal in matters of Fifa, Cosafa and Caf.“Why must I get a mandate to represent Namibia? Since last year, they have been pushing to get Fredericks to take my seat. I will not be remote-controlled, I’m here to represent football, not just the PF,” said Haikali.What Motsepe bringsHaikali added that Motsepe had spoken to him and “wants to see ten more Peter Shaluliles coming from Namibia”.He said Motsepe wants to improve football infrastructure in the whole of Africa, building at least one stadium according to Fifa standards in each country.Motsepe has declared that he will step down as Sundowns boss and focus on his Caf job. This job includes introducing video assistant referees, better TV broadcasting of African matches and working on hosting the Africa Cup of Nations every two years.

Haikali’s unshakable truth

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-17

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Haikali’s unshakable truth

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-17

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