The County Government of Kisii has accused officials at Shabana Football Club of failing to provide the club’s certificate before it releases Sh5 million which Governor James Ongwae promised towards supporting the Betika National Super League (BSL) side about a year ago.
In his earlier statement, Ongwae said his government was prepared to support the club in its quest to regain its lost glory.
“First, I congratulate Shabana for earning promotion to the National Super League. They have fulfilled my dream as Governor because we embarked on renovation of the Gusii Stadium with them in mind,” said the county boss.
However, the county government has since not honoured its cash pledge with the County Executive for Sports Duke Mainga saying they had not received the required documents from the club’s management.
He said that that the county government was ready to offer support to the club but challenged authorities at the club to provide documents among them the club’s certificate.
“As a county government we are willing to offer support since we love sports. However, we cannot give money to individuals whose agenda at the club is not known,” he said.
“We must have the names of the officials and the minutes that approved them to take office. The law requires for documentation and the Public Finance Act is clear that one must provide the certificate.”
In a quick rejoinder, the club’s chairman Jared Nivaton said that all documents have been submitted to the county government. He accused county officials of laxity in the delivery of services.
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War of words
“I personally had to request for copies of the said documents for clarification. If indeed the county government wants to support Shabana, let them go ahead and honour the promise.
“Let us not lie to each other that documents have not been submitted. We sacrifice money from our pockets to support the club because we love football and not for personal gain,” he said.
This comes when there has been a war of words between the management of Shabana and the club’s fans on who is the custodian of the certificate. It’s not clear where the certificate is and who owns it.
The club resumed for the pre-season training two weeks ago as they prepare to host leaders Nairobi City Stars on Saturday in their first match in the second leg.
It is not clear where the match will be played after the County Government of Kisii closed Gusii Stadium for renovation towards the end of last year for two months.
“We are urging authorities tasked with managing the facility to allow the ‘Glamour Boys’ to host their Saturday match at Gusii Stadium,” said Shabana fans national chairman, Boniface Ntabo.
