Bvute quits under pressure from players

By Mehluli Sibanda

Senior Sports Reporter

OZIAS Bvute, who gave up his post as Zimbabwe Cricket managing director last Tuesday relinquished his post under immense pressure from many fronts mainly the players, according to impeccable sources.

Bvute, who threw in the towel after being at the helm since 2004, is said to have been under intense pressure from players who were threatening industrial action over unfulfilled promises, a revolt similar to the one in 2004.

Players are understood to be infuriated by ZC taking time to pay them their outstanding match fees with some dating back to as far as the 2011 International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup held in the sub-continent.

Last year, Bvute took great exception to comments made by former captain Tatenda Taibu who blasted the ZC administration for failing to pay the players their dues in time.

“Bvute left under growing pressure both from cricketers and the everybody, players were also fed up and were threatening to take action against him so another rebellion could have spelt doom for him,” said a very reliable source.

Another reason that is being thrown around is that Bvute’s departure, according to our source, was that he avoided further taint on his reputation by leaving at the time when the “team” was doing well.

Contrary to the belief that Bvute left ZC in a better financial position, the organisation was reeling from a huge debt caused by the introduction of the franchise system in 2009.

Sunday Sport has in good authority that ZC owes a hotel group huge amounts of money dating back to when the country was still using the local currency and despite promises from ZC that the debt would be cleared, promises that the cricket governing mother body has failed to stick to.

Our source also makes startling revelations that a local company (name supplied), in which Bvute, a former national team captain and a woman (names supplied) have a stake in holds the licence for domestic cricket in Zimbabwe, which makes the company the custodians of cricket in Zimbabwe.

“To say he has completely left is an understatement, in the Press release the ZC chairman said the board has asked him (Bvute) be still involved in the marketing and commercial department of ZC to help them raise funds fully knowing that Dominus Sport which holds the licence to run domestic cricket in Zimbabwe and International home games is also owned by him and his two associates. The company was allegedly awarded the licence fraudulently as the licence was not put to tender. So it is so clear that he has stepped down from running the organisation directly.

“As it stands ZC as an organisation are there to attend ICC meetings only and make no decision as the company will make all the decisions here back home as they control what the franchises do. ZC acts like a subsidiary of the company which can safely be said to be the custodian of the game of cricket in Zimbabwe,” the source alleged.

While it was not said where Bvute is headed to, the source said Bvute will be taking up a role as director at Metropolitan Bank where he was allegedly operating from prior to his departure from ZC.

Last Tuesday, ZC announced that Bvute had left his post to pursue a career in the commercial world and would be replaced by Wilfred Mukondiwa who all along had been his deputy and had been attending ICC meetings in London where Bvute and ZC chairman Peter Chingoka were barred. Bvute took over the ZC managing director’s role from Vincent Hogg who stepped down after a chaotic time created by the sacking of 15 players who protested against the removal of then captain Heath Streak from his position.

Efforts to get a comment from Bvute or ZC were unsuccessfull by the time of going to Press while Shingai Rhuhwaya, the head of media and communications did not bother responding to written questions sent to her yesterday morning. An arrogant Rhuhwaya refused to give this newspaper Bvute’s contact details saying she was the head of media and communications but at the same time she said she was too busy with the Twenty20 tri-series featuring Bangladesh, South Africa and Zimbabwe and that was the reason for her not responding to the questions.

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