Pascalinah Kabi
MASERU — The A Division Management Committee (Admaco) resigned on Thursday in a move that is set to plunge Lesotho football into more chaos.
The resignation came a few hours before a meeting that had been called to discuss the Lesotho Football Association (Lefa)’s plan to kick out the committee from its structures.
The meeting, which was scheduled for Thursday, failed to take place with the members alleging that Lefa president Salemane Phafane “came late” to the meeting.
They alleged the meeting was supposed to start at 5pm while Lefa insists the meeting was due to start at 7pm.
The Admaco members said they waited for more than an hour for Phafane to arrive and when he failed to turn up, they left.
The four committee members who resigned are Qamako Mahao (marketing manager), ’Misi Nteso (secretary), Khotso Mapepesa (marketing manager) and Tabai Motuba (member).
Following their resignation the four called on the nine-member Lefa executive committee to step down.
They said it was wrong for Lefa to expel Admaco from Lefa’s structures.
“Collectively as members of Admaco, we decided that it is best to quit and they (Lefa) will select a new committee,” Mahao said.
“We decided to resign because we do not think it is wise to debate the executive committee’s decision over Admaco and its congress. We are just appointees of Lefa.”
Lefa chief executive officer, Mofihli Makoele, confirmed to the Sunday Express that the Admaco executive committee had resigned.
“I have received their statements saying it is best for them to step down because they didn’t want to argue with Lefa,” Makoele said.
The committee’s resignation came a few hours before Phafane was expected to announce a decision to bar Admaco from Lefa’s structures ahead of the association’s annual general meeting yesterday.
“The agenda of the meeting was for the president to inform us that they had decided to amend Article 26 which allows Admaco to attend Lefa’s congress,” Mahao said.
“We were aware of the decision but we did not think it was wise to debate that issue with them because we are its (Lefa) appointees.”
The four committee members however demanded that the Lefa executive committee should also step down.
Nteso said Lefa had decided to kick out Admaco because of its “no-nonsense attitude”.
“My personal view is that normally when elections approach, people who think that we have different opinions make decisions like this to get rid of us,” he said.
Mahao said Admaco has been attending Lefa’s congress in the past where it even participated in elections.
“If Lefa wants to correct this by kicking Admaco out of its structures and congress, then their executive committee was wrongly appointed as well,” he said.
“We feel that Lefa’s executive committee must step down because (they were elected through an illegitimate process).
“Our feeling is that they are operating by mistake because the congress that elected them was a mistake as well,” Mahao said.
“We are saying this because if Admaco has been attending and taking part in elections in their congress by mistake, and Admaco is part of the congress that elected this current committee into office, then they must step down.”
He added: “We do not understand why Lefa is only realising that having Admaco attend the congress is a mistake now because the decision to have Admaco, the premier league and the executive committee’s term changed from two years to four were reached at the same time.”
“Why is it that they are only seeing a mistake on Admaco’s side now?
“If Admaco has been allowed to elect members mistakenly then they (Lefa executive committee) must realise that they are illegitimate because they have been elected by people who do not have a right to vote.”
Lefa is run by president Phafane, vice-presidents Tlholo Letete and Khiba Mohoanyane, public relations officer Malephane and members Rantsubise Matete, Thabo Pule, Motlatsi Khasipe, Teboho Lekhanya and Matloko Mafantiri.
But Baba Malephane told the Sunday Express that the Admaco members failed to wait for the meeting with Phafane to discuss issues affecting them because they had their own agenda.
“They knew their meeting was at 1900hrs but failed to wait for the president, they had their own agenda even before the meeting hence they failed to wait,” he said.
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