Athletics Association of Malawi loses K3mil sponsorship
Athletics Association of Malawi (AAM) has been dealt a below the belt blow after a losing candidate in the executive committee controversial elections has withdrawn a K3 million sponsorship.
After the elections re-elected president Godfrey Phiri bragged about securing a sponsorship but told the general assembly that he would not disclose the particulars of the sponsors to avoid Nyasa Times reporting on it.
“I would like to thank you for entrusting me with another term of office. I would like to announce that we have secured sponsorship but we would not tell you because we don’t want to find the story published in the Nyasa Times,” Phiri said, in reaction to telling stories we have published on the association’s poor governance and financial mismanagement.
However one of the losing candidate confided in Nyasa Times that Phiri, who retained the post unopposed, did not secure the sponsorship.
“Having lost the elections miserably under controversial circumstances I have instructed the company to withhold the sponsorship,” he said.
“Whathe told the general assembly is a lie because it is me who secured the sponsorship and with the results of the polls I have talked to the sponsors to put it on hold.”
It remains to be seen how the executive committee would handle the issue after publicly announcing that a competition for athletics is in the offing.
The elections saw only two executive members in the previous team losing, acting Treasurer Irene Luka and former Vice-President Senti Banda.
Phiri was elected president alongside Emmanuel Mulonya as Vice-President, Frank Chitembeya retained the position of General Secretary with Thandi Mbeya getting into the mix as Vice-General Secretary, Christopher Kabwazi as the Treasurer .
