Fans called for transparency. Will the club listen ?
Exactly one week ago, Gor Mahia officials announced that due to the reluctance of corporate sponsors to come on board as sponsors, they were embarking on a major member recruitment and fund raising drive. EC member David Kiilo announced that the club is targeting at least one million members who will be expected to pay Sh100 each. Not much has been heard from the club since then.
Naturally the die hard fans are willing to dig into their pockets to support the club they support. However many fans in the blogosphere have demanded measures of transparency and accountability be put in place. Almost 50% of fans responded that they wanted to see financial transparency.
Unfortunately, transparency has never been a strong suit for this club. Things were much worse in the past.
Previous chairman Erastus Okul once remarked that the fans had no business inquiring about the inner goings-on at the club. Ambrose Rachier may be one of the best chairmen in the history of club football in Kenya. But even he has not assuaged the concerns of those fans who demand accountability.
Financial transparency can be enhanced for example by publishing the club’s accounts and having the accounts audited on a regular basis by reputable accounting firm such as KPMG.
Gate collections is another area where the club must assuage the skepticism of fans. The recent match pitting Gor Mahia and Bandari raised Ksh 1,049,000 at the gates. Given that City stadium is far larger than Mombasa Municipal stadium and more Gor Mahia fans attend matches at City than those who travel to Mombasa the gate collections for home games should always be much higher than that number.
Back in 2002, yours truly approached Gor Mahia officials offering to send money every month and also recruit other fans to do the same. We had an agreement with the officials at the time that they would put in place real measures to enhance accountability. But after I sent the first money for the 1st month I contacted him about the promise he made. But he just kept insisting that we send the money.
It is a given that should Gor Mahia put in place the measures need to enhance transparency, the club could raise significant amounts of money. In a way its a good thing that Tuzo pulled out. It means that club’s officials must now think out of the box and find other ways to raise funds. Will they ? They better. The success of the club depends on it.
why r our officials reluctant to roll out the recruitment drive backed up by strong accountability structures.we r willing to sponsor THE MIGHTY GOR MAHIA OF EAST AFRICA.
Very precise and insightful article. This is what we have been advocating for a long time. The begging questions are:-
1. Can our executive committee do something about transparency and accountability?
2. Can our office account for every coin received or donations?
3. Can our office put measures to curb hooliganisms?
4. Can our officials found culpable just resign from the office without pressure from fans?
4. Can our office come with a master plan of Gor Mahia with a blueprint of taking the club to greater heights?
5. Can our office come up with a three year strategic plan with a mission statement, vision and club’ score values?
@Mwakio all this pertinent questions that you‘ve asked I highly doubt if the current EC can implement any. All they want is to maintain the status quo at expense of the team. Rachier n Co cannot fight hooliganism coz it‘s the same hooligans who ascended him into power.
It‘s a fact that what we are getting from Kiilo is just lips service because one they feel threatened that there grip in the club will be weak and they will be pushed to the wall by fans to account for every coin spent.
Truth be told is that Gor as a club has become cash cow for the officials and therefore auditing to them is a big No. Since sponsorship is now not forthcoming these officials have no choice but to embrace what brother Mwakio has been proposing for all this time for the good of the club.
Accountability and transparency a must otherwise very much willing to support
Managers of gor fans foundation, kindly give us weekly targets and reports. These will motivate fans to contribute even more .
Nworuok ok rach…….. an asenuora
what matters here is accountability & transparency of the highest order.It is a very good and timely idea for this mighty kogalo.chap chap pliz .
Ati 1,000,000 members paying kshs.100.
There will be no accountability here. GM fans are being prepared for the next major scum. What about the members who paid much more in the just concluded GM elections.
Will history repeat itself. Watch this space our loyalty & love for K’galo will be ABUSED.
Preaching Reforms and Justice While Stealing From the Poor!
Posted on July 19, 2012
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· “He (read Mr. Kigeugeu) and his father before him struggled against tremendous odds and government malfeance and interference to establish their family businesses,” Sarah Elderkin (Daily Nation, July 19, 2012).
· Let us go straight to the subject matter. Source(s): RELIABLE. Name(s): WITHHELD:
· “Under the guise of empowering the Luo Community economically in the 1940s, Adonijah Jaramogi Oginga Odinga incorporated a company called Luo Thrift and Trading Company. He proceeded to travel across East Africa collecting money from Luos who wished to buy shares in the company…
· A colossal sum was raised some of which was invested in large scale sugar plantations in the Nyanza Sugar Belt, posho mills in several market places in Nyanza, real estate in Kisumu Town and Maseno, among other properties which also included a printing press and a bilingual weekly newspaper called The Nyanza Times, not to mention a public transport company called Lolwe…
· No sooner had these commercial ventures been put in place than transparency left through the window. Under the stewardship of Jaramogi, Luo Thrift and Trading Company did not call any Annual General Meetings as stipulated in The Companies Act, nor did it declare or issue dividends to its shareholders…
· Progressively, the properties bought with the proceeds from the poor shareholders changed hands mysteriously and became personal property. Those who attempted to raise this issue in public or in private were harassed and intimidated into silence…
· Although they are usually the most vocal on matters touching on corruption on the national front, Luo MPs have lost both legitimacy and credibility in terms of protecting their electorate and addressing their legitimate aspirations, for economic progress;
· By keeping silent on the fate of properties one family appear to have stolen from poor Luos through Luo Thrift and Trading Company, including Ofafa Memorial Hall…
· By the time Odinga died on January 20, 1994, most, if not all, of the assets bought under the flagship of Luo Thrift and Trading Company had mysteriously reverted to private companies associated with him…
· Three years later, his son and scion of his business and political dynasty, Raila Amolo Odinga, commenced another collection spree, again from poor Luos; under the guise of empowering them economically by assisting them to buy shares in the then stalled Molasses Complex, in Kisumu…
· While millions of shillings which Raila collected from Lous disappeared mysteriously into thin air, 240 acres of land where the Molasses Plant, in Kisumu, stands was transferred to the Odinga Family Business around the time leading to the KANU/NDP merger, after the General Election of 1997. NB: The actual merger reached fruition in 2001…
· Subsequent queries about the money only yielded one consistent but misleading answer from Oburu Odinga, Raila’s elder brother, who is today the Assistant minister of Finance. Oburu kept on repeating that the money was safe in a bank account…
· He declined to state the amount in the said account, which bank it was kept in and how much interest it was earning, if at all…
· If the money had been collected to assist the contributors to buy shares in the Kisumu Molasses Plant, how did it end up in a mysterious bank account and what was it doing in that account?
· Over one decade has elapsed since that money was collected from Luos; but it seems as if it is still lying in the unknown bank where it appears to be destined to lie forever, while many contributors wallow in abject poverty…
· As members of the Luo community began to come to terms with the fact that they had been swindled out of the shares they had been promised and that the over Kshs. 100 million or so raised could have disappeared into the pockets of Raila Odinga and Company, it was reported from Paris, the capital of France, that the shares they had been promised had been sold to someone else!
· According to the respectable Indian Ocean Newsletter No. 1065 of November 22, 2005, a Canadian company called Diamond-Works teamed up with Raila Odinga by taking 55% stake in his firm, Spectre International for US Dollars 2 million which is an equivalent of Kshs. 170 million…
· It was reported at the time that part of the amount from Diamond-Works of Canada was to serve to pay Spectre’s debts as the company has allegedly borrowed money for the project. Who did they borrow from after collecting from the poor Luos?
· The whole story about the Kisumu Molasses Plant has not been told, but the Odingas will no longer remain in a position where they will continue to withhold the truth from Kenyans, in general, and the Luo community, in particular, about the mystery surrounding their acquisition of the Kisumu Molasses Plant with the connivance of “the Moi-Nyayo-KANU regime!” Nothing to add: Enough said! Everything is in black and white. Alluta Continua
@ODUOR 12 WE WANT TO REBUILD THE MIGHTY GOR MAHIA OF EAST AFRICA ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE SPIRIT OF EXCELLENCE, INDUSTRY, LOVE, TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY…DO NOT DRAG US INTO POLITICS. I BELIEVE THIS FROM N.S.I.S…….WHY CANT THEY B CONCERNED ABOUT HOSTING CHAN AND BUILDING THE PROMISED 5 STADIA…THEY THOUGHT GOR WILL DIE…NEVER ON EARTH AND IN HEAVEN IN JESUS NAME AMEN.
@oduor12, am not a Luo and I would like to how is this related to Gor Mahia. My advice is to take the matter to court.
Let us discuss matters relating to Gor Mahia but not bring politics in this site. Gor is supported by all tribes in kenya but not only the Luos.
I suggest that we discuss Gor Mahia matters but not diverting good intentions as being articulated by bloggers in this site. Take politics to CORD and Jubilee please.
@Oduor12, if you do not want to support Gor Mahia, please defect to any other KPL teams. Your article confirms that you are not Gor Mahia fan. Why bring politics in this bloggers site? Are you normal upstairs? Do you have maggots in your head? Are you a true Gor fan? We have your true intention and you do not mean well for the team.
Let us only discuss football here. Do not drag us to your narrow Luo politics.
Venom spitting “Bishop” Mwakio we all know that the fact you ain’t a Luo is a biological accident & not by any design so making that statement is meaningless.
Two its better 2 have maggots upstairs rather than nothing which renders one unable 2 draw parrallels/learn frm (history) 2 different events(or at different times) but with the same intentions even if the persons have changed.
U boldly state ua doubts yet r so conceited 2 tell me 2 quit GM, so we leave it 4 who, you who is GM NUMERO UNO?
Narrow and shallow minds will not take our great club Gor Mahia anywhere. You can’t mix football and politics Mr. Oduor12. Let us discuss the matter under the above headline with sobriety and sound mind.
@Oduori 12, you’ve been beaten on this one, plse give us another line that is well researched.
we have very able non-partisan in kenya who can hep build the club ‘ rather than the hyienas
Racheir please wake up. this is What we have been advocating for.
Let us have T-shirts printed with Paybill number 350100 because the team is now sponsored by fans.Lets avoid a lot of talking but act.We can organize kogalo dinners ,lunches ,kogalo car wash,kogalo night to raise funds very fast.Kogalo nignt and Dinner can raise upto 10m.Imagine selling a plate of dinner at for shs.1500 for 5000 pax will give shs.7.5m.When you organize a kogalo night entry fee of shs.500 gives shs.2.5m then do car wash for a day at shs.300 for 5000 cars you get shs.1.5m.
What else do we need?Officials wake up.Luos like fan and fun and they should take advantage of that.
Makogada.