Friday, March 29, 2024

Ministry of Youth and Sports gives an explanation for the National Team Chartered Plane

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One Zambia , One Nation

REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA
MINISTRY OF YOUTH AND SPORT
PRESS STATEMENT

CHARTER OF THE PLANE FOR THE ZAMBIA SENIOR NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM’S TRAVEL TO CAPE VERDE

It is unfortunate that there is negative publicity in some sections of the media and from individuals concerning the travel arrangements of the Senior National Football Team to Cape Verde for the 2015 Morocco AFCON Qualifiers.

It should be noted that Government and other stakeholders worked tirelessly to ensure the safe and timely passage of the team to fulfill their National duty

It is worth noting that all procurement or acquisition of services and goods for the Senior National Football team are always subjected to the Government financial management systems and procurement procedures.

On 16th June, 2014 the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) submitted the fixtures for the 2015 AFCON qualifiers. The Ministry responded by seeking support from the private sector to meet the cost of chartering a plane for the three away fixtures.

It should also be noted that in the past, most of charters for the National Team were sponsored by the Private Sector, especially mining companies. But unfortunately, this time around no company came on board and, therefore, Government had to foot the bills.

There was only a three-day break between the first home match and the away game, therefore, there was need to charter a plane as the commercial flight option would have been unsuitable.

The Ministry received a quotation from MTHA AVIATION (PVT) Ltd of South Africa through the Football Association of Zambia team manager. Other airlines did not have planes available for hire.

MTHA AVIATION (PVT) Ltd asked for a full upfront payment 72 hours before departure. The Ministry of Youth and Sport paid MTHA AVIATION (PVT) Ltd on Friday 5th September 2014.

The initial quotation indicated the day of Departure for Cape Verde as 9th September 2014 from Lusaka and the return to Zambia on 11th September 2014. However after further consultations with FAZ it was recommended that the team departs for Cape Verde on 8th September 2014 from Ndola by 07:00am and returns from Cape Verde on 11th September 2014 at the earliest possible time. The Ministry thereafter communicated this change of departure date from Ndola to Cape Verde to the airline in writing on Friday 5th September 2014 who acknowledged the change. A copy was given to FAZ.

The Ministry then requested the airline to indicate the time of arrival in Ndola and the complete travel plan up to Cape Verde and was assured that this information would be availed at the earliest possible time. On Sunday 7th September 2014, FAZ got clarity from the Authorities in Cape Verde that the match was to take place in Praia and that the plane needed to land at Nelson Mandela Airport in Praia and not at SAL airport.

In the evening, the airline indicated that the plane would land in Ndola on Monday, 8th September 2014 by midday. The plane did not land as indicated. The airline said the delay was due to many changes in the date of departure and the change of the airports in Zambia and Cape Verde. At 14:00 hours, the airline indicated that the plane would arrive in Ndola at 18:00 hours and would depart for Cape Verde the following morning. The Ministry rejected this because the team needed to train before the match.

The airline then called and sent mail indicating that the Minister of Transport for South Africa had issued special exemption for the plane to fly to Ndola and that they were requesting clearance to land in Ndola that evening. The Ministry requested the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication to facilitate clearance for landing in Ndola that evening. Immediately the authorities in the Ministry of Youth and Sport, Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication and Department of Civil Aviation converged to facilitate the landing of the plane in Ndola that evening. Personnel at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport were called to reopen the airport, which normally closes at 19:00 hours to facilitate the landing.

When contacted, the airline stated that there were other clearances to be made in South Africa and the plane could only fly on Tuesday 9th September 2014.

From 08:00 hours on Tuesday 9th September 2014, all key Government officials converged to ensure the plane arrived in Ndola. The Zambian High Commissioner in South Africa was requested to physically verify the existence of the plane and ensuring that it departed South Africa for Zambia.

Meanwhile, the company indicated they needed help from Zambian Authorities for air space clearance from 12 other countries enroute to Cape Verde, among these were, Congo DR, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. Despite the short notice, Government managed to obtain international clearance wherever the plane was going to pass and land enroute to Cape Verde.

At this point concern over the behavior of the service provider was raised and it was decided that another service provider be sought while pursuing the plane in South Africa. Procurement of an alternative chartered flight was finalized when the MTHA plane finally arrived in Ndola at 20:40 hours.

The team finally flew out for Cape Verde at 21:40 hours.

Therefore, it must be made clear that Government did all it could do to ensure the team flew out in good time and this undue criticism is unfair and unfortunate. Government, therefore, wants to assure the nation that it remains committed to the development of sport and the welfare of all sports men and women in all disciplines, including football.

46 COMMENTS

  1. “Meanwhile, the company indicated they needed help from Zambian Authorities for air space clearance from 12 other countries en route to Cape Verde, among these were, Congo DR, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. Despite the short notice, Government managed to obtain international clearance wherever the plane was going to pass and land en route to Cape Verde.”

    Was this the first time the Ministry was arranging a charter flight?Didn’t they know of the procedure of getting airspace clearance before hand.

    • Honestly why all these BULLCRAP? What a worst of government time and resources. Why not just write 3 sentences? Zambian lost anyway.
      These PF are full of barkers!!

    • Under kambwili nothing can work. The ministry can justify but that does not change anything including the coming matches. Players can still win but will always work under difficult conditions. It’s very unfortunate that people like kambwili can even be allowed to be ministers. As if there is no functional government. Let the government establish a national airline. The ministry says in the past the private sector had come in, off course that is part of cooperate social responsibility. However when people are not serious private sector will tighten their confers. It’s sad for soccer loving Zambians

  2. Trying to justify the unjustifiable!
    It was just poor planning period, next do what is right because we don’t want to lose another national team like the Gabon disaster. Wake up!

  3. The excuse and winding explanation lacks merit to warrant understanding let alone earn forgiveness on the part of the Ministry. It can be ascertained from the long and windy statement that from the outset there was lack of leadership and co-ordination in the whole saga. This is chaotic, barbaric and uncalled for to say the least. Someone needs to raise their act, shape up or sheep out! The press release shows the absence of leadership, advance planning and managerial skills. Shame on you!!!

  4. So fat kambwili failed to explain this opting to insult us? We shall show him in 2016 how lunatic we are and after that not even his big bones will help him remain fat.

  5. This just wont wash- GRZ admits that it was notified of the fixtures as early as June . In the next breath they are saying there was only 3 days between the home and away fixture – as if they just discovered that last week ! And what is with all the lamentation about how the mining companies used to sponsor the team in the past ( that explains why ZCCM was loss making).
    Wake up to the new reality – it is not the duty of the private sector to foot the bill for the national team. Stop blaming the mining companies for your utter incompetence . After all, they pay you tax. The excuses from Gvt are clearly not convincing. Period.

  6. I believe this statement. The officials did what they could. Some days are stone.

    The question, however, is who issued the statement? Is it the PS or Minister?

    With regardto finances, FAZ should start charging economic prices for matches to raise maoney. Transparency from FAZ will also go a long way. FAZ should also stop being arrogant especially to govt. FIFA is a monster which can make some people think they are no longer Zambian subject to Zambian leaders.

    • Who issued the statement? It was issued by the Ministry of Youth and Sport headed by “Hon” Kambwili.

      Are you saying “Hon” Kambwili’s ministry does not have a system to control what goes out to the public on GRZ letterhead as an “official” statement and what does not? Or that the Ministry might speak with two voices? OK…. maybe you have a point. Only it’s sad to think this is how low our expectations of government have sunk…… and what people are willing to tolerate!

  7. Lame excuses! Why is it that its only Zambia with such issues kanshi. The players could have arrived in time and acclamatised if they used a commercial plane. From July 16th, why make payments on 5th September. Even if u r expecting the private sector to come on board, u should have done your homework. The issue of change of airports is the same debacle that happened in Ghana when u guys wanted to land were u wanted despite being told the airstrip is small for the chattered plane. All this long, rubbish explanation could have been replaced with one word SORRY! I bet this fiasco is not over. The best things is that we lost otherwise ngatwaliwina nga na mututuka especially lunatic Kambwili

  8. The side effects of unfettered, full scale privatization to non-resident investors. There is no corporate ethics, no charity and no plough back. It is pure tax evasion and avoidance while sunbathing on private islands. Don’t ever include them in our boys’ travel plans. Ever!

  9. DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER READING THIS USELESS FLIMSY EXCUSE.
    This is NOT the first time Chipolopolo have been delayed or late for fixtures, & this has happened under Big Kambwili, & the Current F.A.Z, Committee.
    Have they NEVER learned from past episodes?? Always loving Disasters, hence Big Kambwili past wishes to name Heroes Stadium “Kambwili Disaster Stadium”. After all this the same Clowns are asking to Host the AFCON Tournament?? God forbid!
    Is Zambia the Only Nation in Africa, that plays away fixtures?? Why I ask is this only appears to happen to Zambia.
    Solution to this ever recurring problem is to SACK BIG KAMBWILI, & the ENTIRE F.A.Z, COMMITTEE Chapwa!!!!!

  10. I don’t have to finish reading what you have written. You guys are not serious. You’re not professional. If u can’t handle this kind of thing then please delegate.

  11. Just admit it. You diverted the funds to fly around the country for bye elections instead. When it comes to flying these ministers, private jets, helicopters just appear from the skies but national duty is regarded as not important. Makes you wonder why the Europeans used to behead corrupt leaders and kings who abused their positions. This bwana mentality is setting us back. We know Zambia is far from being a poor country but the rampant abuse of resources at all levels is heart breaking.

  12. Lunatics! Why did you change departure dates from Ndola? You just armed the airline to shift the blame on you. Didn’t you know from the onset that departure from Zambia on the 8th was preferable? How do you do consultations after getting a quotation already?

  13. Yaba, its better you guys keep quiet than annoy us more. You are just incompetent guys. Shame on you. The boys even tried hard to get a 2-1 loss…. if they had arrived a day before, Zambia would have won.

    Please keep quiet and burry your heads in shame….shame on you all ( FAZ and the Ministry of sports).

  14. Please forgive them for the do not know what they were doing. Three years ago these chaps where on bicycles and minibuses. They have no clue of how an aircraft operates

  15. We have buffoons for planners in FAZ. Why charter a plane when it is not budgeted for! Kalusha should own up and leave FAZ let him go to CAF and his Uncle’s shop FIFA. He is not domiciled in Zambia. Why always South africa? plane chartering, training, sports’ equipment.etc. Ba Kabwili ask the boy to leave FAZ Zambia is not short of qualified administrators. Kalu failed as a coach, now he is failing to manage simple issues because of his arrogance. What did he do with the money from Qatar?

    • Imagine only one charter company sent a quote with all the companies in the world and it happens to be a RSA company….it is flawed …Galu is milking FAZ dry…this is why I would never pay to watch a home game as we are merely paying for these greedy empty suits lifestyles.
      How do other FA with a smaller leagues manage to be self sufficient?

  16. Well, the Ministry did its best.Thanks for clarity.
    Just that in future we should handle such matters with care,foresight as we plan to invest on our National Airline to avoid such embarrassment.

    Hard luck..we lost.!

    • And you wonder why you don’t move forward. ..how is that going to help? It’s this tolerance of mediocrity that is taking us nowhere.
      Wake up!!

  17. Firstly this is bogus someone can’t come to us and explain as though they were telling a four year old what cause the delay in getting her candy, this explanation can not pass well with my daughter. Firstly she would raise the concerns of who managed the contract with the chattered plane. Who ever did manage the contract wasn’t alive to all these aspects. Then the issue of time, from June you were informed and you only managed to finalise payment and start communicating about dates on the 5th September even spilling into Sunday surely this is effective from your point of view, even talking about the airline staff were recalled to open the airport in Ndola is not an achievement its a sign of failure suppose they were not available that night what would ve happened???? BOGUS PEOPLE FAMILY

  18. This is a flawed system of issuing quotations which encourages corruption; what’s stopping Galu selecting his prefered companies with inflated quotes…why should they recieve quotes through FAZ when its the tax payer paying for everything? What is Faz doing with all the monies they receive … its time for these empty suits to open up their books as it just ironic that an association overseeing one of the most lucrative sports should be spoonfed by poor taxpayer’s. ..when there are pressing issues to attend to.
    Wake up people the Galu gravy train has to stop!!

  19. I HAVE SOME SIMPLE QUESTIONS.
    WHY SHOULD GOVERNMENT PAY FOR THE FLIGHTS WHEN THERE IS FAZ?
    WHAT IS THE FAZ FOR?
    THE USELESS FIFA ALSO BARS GOVERNMENT FROM “INTERFERING” IN FAZ MATTERS BUT LOOKS AWAY WHEN THE SAME INCOMPETENT FAZ SEEKS HELP FROM GOVERNMENT.
    AND KALUSHA CAN “BORROW” MONEY FROM FIFA OFFICIALS AND THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
    THE WHOLE THING STINKS.

  20. The Zambian national team must quickly overhaul the team. The only player that makes sense is Christopher katongo as was evidenced when he came in as a sub. players like fwayo tembo, Kabaso chongo, Jacob Mulenga, Felix, Sunguluma, Sakuhuha are not national team material

  21. MTHA Aviation are conmen. They don’t own aircraft. How on earth do you charter a plane from such an company. Might as well charter from me!

    I smell a rat.

  22. That is a game of football, I’m glad people can think and realise that our organisers lacks merit… The boys played well i said this just after the game and I repeat. I understand what fatigue can do to someone and not even a very physic sportsman can stand it unless they are not human in fresh.
    Please put the house in order to avoid humiliations and Zambian fans let us not frustrate the coach now because making a team it is not as simple as one would think. Judge him if at all will fail to qualify the team for 2015 Morocco AFCON. Whether win or lose you will always remain ZAMBIAN.

  23. Rubbish! The tone of the letter is so arrogant. The Ministry had since june to arrange for this match , but failed lamentably. People should be held accountable especially the PS and the Director of Sport. This explanation is too contradictory , its like shooting oneself in the foot.

    We shall not accept such mediocrity in running this nation. Madame PS just admitted that you did a bad job on this one.

  24. This sentiment does in any way make sense at all. This shows the need for a national airline. Our leaders want to be treated like gods. Admit your mistake than telling us that criticism is unfair and unfortunate. Last minute preparations shows luck of seriousness from your side as FAZ gave you the schedules for all the qualifiers way back in June, we are not grade one pupils sir!

  25. This is the most stupid excuse i have heard for the entire time of my existence on earth……………when did the fixture given to them again?

  26. CAN SOMEONE ANSA FOLLOWING QUESTION..
    1,,WHAT IS THE DUTY OF SPORTS MINISTER AND WHAT DOES HE DO AS A MINISTER??
    2,..WHATS IS THE SOURCE OF INCOME OF KALU??

    AWAITING RESPONSE,,,

  27. What a load of rubbish! They knew about the fixtures three months ago ( June ) In any case, its not the first time that there have been such embarrassing logistical hiccups. It maybe excusable if its a novel complication, but FAZ and govt. should have sorted out their act by now. By the way, who runs what? When it comes to soccer, govt. involvement is unprecedented. What’s FAZ for? We don’t see the same govt. misplaced enthusiasm for other sports. For example, Kambwili is for all intent and purposes the Minister of Soccer in Zambia – albeit a bad one! Its all a mess and has been for a while.

  28. BIG Kambwili is only fit to be Minister of Wrestling, since the only Competence he shown since becoming a Minister, is Wrestling with Referees.
    Unfortunately Wrestling is NOT a Major Sport in Zed, so No Vacancy for “BIG K”
    HE SHOULD GO!!

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