Voters still question Gor Mahia finances
courtesy of thepeople.co.ke
Questions about the financial record of the country’s biggest club Gor Mahia continued as the club headed to its elections this weekend. Stakeholders at the club have raised issues with the financial statement read during the aborted Annual General Meeting (AGM) a month ago.
Opposing supporters for the club’s election are poking holes at the statement that said the club raised Sh9 million from their matches last year. Despite their failure to clinch the local double last season, Gor are by common consent the best club in the country’s football industry.
Featuring stars like Dani Sserunkuma, Paul Kiongera and David Owino, their talented players entertain and delight us in equal measure, as they dominate Kenyan season after season. However, admiration of their exploits is tempered by the financial advantages that they enjoy compared to other less fortunate clubs.
Not only do they generate far more revenue than anybody else but one of the main reasons for this substantial competitive advantage is the loyal ‘Green Army’ who have turned this love for club into a way of life. Their reputation off the pitch also suffered a hit recently in the media when it was “revealed” that this great team was built on a mountain of untoward behaviour on the terraces and outside the stadium, raising questions as to whether this was, to coin a phrase, “supporters fair play.”
However, the books of accounts released by the club include bizarre undertakings and incomes which continue to baffle club members. For example, those present at the AGM disagreed with a gate collection figure that indicated the club received Sh9.1 million. There is also another figure of Sh7.6 million from the Kenya Premier League (KPL).
In total, including sponsorship, donations and T-shirt sales, the club received Sh38.6 million. Quite why this came as a surprise to some analysts is a little perplexing, given that the club’s accounts have been available to the public for many months. For a football club that averages 5,000 paying supporters per game, it is an insult to basic intelligence that the club did not reach a total of Sh30 million.
KPL figures indicate that there was a spike of more than 50 per cent to more than two million ticket sales and the Gor Mahia rightly control 40 per cent of the country’s ticket sales. A leading contestant for the club’s elections Tom Ataro said yesterday: ‘’A number of factors have made us sceptical as to whether we have received all relevant information and explanations necessary for the audit from the management.
The club management led by Ambrose Rachier however insist the club statement is a true reflection of the affairs at the club. ‘’We have not been provided with sufficient and appropriate evidence that the management have formally considered and resolved as necessary the issues relating to these comments or that these comments by the individual official,” an official of Wells Fargo identified as Tom Okoth.
Despite the following that is admirable within the country’s sporting circles, many are questioning the sale of the replica shirts. According to the club’s accounts, T-shirt sales raked in Sh1.3 million, a figure highly doubtable, considering that a single unit costs more than Sh2,000. “The most conservative figure is that there were more than 2000 T-shirts during any Gor game, which means the club should have collected more than Sh2 million from that sale alone,” said Tom Ataro, another former official of the club.
Gor t-shirts costs btwn 1000 and 1500 not 2000 shillings. We should also not count the number of fans to come up with the gate collections as most of our fans bribe their way through. Anyway unless we have an auditor to give us a qualified position the rest remains as heresay.
The way forward is for the fans/branches to ensure only credible members are elected into office. As i said before only AR and GB are worth electing unto office.
It is indeed important for fans to keep officials on their toes and the club can make things easier by getting a credible external auditor.
Also I would urge Rachier to get better security for the next elections and ensure that only voters can enter the stadium. We do not want more chaos. It reflects poorly on the club.
Here it is fellow followers of Gor Mahia aka the Green Army- Here are the highlights of Gor Mahia’s 2014 fixtures. We kick off the defence of our trophy with a match against our bogey team- City Stars on 19-2-14. We play Efusi at home on the 25-5-14 in the first Leg @ Nyayo National Stadium. Kindly hve a peak at Gor Mahia’s TPL first Leg Fixtures for 2014. 1. CITY STARS (H) 2. MATHARE UTD (A) 3. TUSKER (H) 4. THIKA UTD (A) 5. W~STIMA (H) 6. TOP FRY(A) 7. BANDARI (A) 8. KCB (H) 9. ULINZI STARS (A) 10. MUHORONI YOUTH (H) 11. SONY (A) 12. SOFAPAKA (H) 13. CHEMELIL (A) 14. EFUSI (H) 15. KRA (A). From the fixture list, we hve 5 tough looking matches at the start of the season and so we have to hit the ground running. Winning the first 5 matches will send the right message to our opponents ~tht we intend to retain our trophy. The 3 matches preceding our match against Efusi Are also not very kind to us. On their part the Shemejis too do have a daunting 3 matches against TUSKER, THIKA UTD and W~ STIMA in tht order before Visiting Gor Mahia at NYAYO. This calls for proper and intensive preparation from day one if we are to put daylight btwn us and the chasing park in the First Leg. Good luck team Gor Mahia.
@ Mwakio be assured that EC have been presented with a memorandum that members want the GM constitution to be changed. Those changes include reducing the no. of officials, streamlining membership, etc but you can judge for yourself (after reading the article below) the attitude of the current & evaluate the chances of such a memorandum being included in the agenda. Do you have any other suggestions on the way forward. Remember GM belongs to the members not the current officials or FKF.
An SGM would have been best (essential) pre the election.
LET IN PUT THIS IN CAPITAL TO EMPHASIZE ITS IMPORTANCE.
*** I HOPE THAT AT THE VERY LEAST THE BALLOT BOXES WILL BE TRANSPARENT AND BY NOW THE VENUE & TIMETABLE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE PUBLIC.
Excerpt.
“Some are calling on a change in the constitution and as much as I am not opposed to it, I say this is not the right time. Let us first clear with elections then the elected officials will do that as they wish, he told futaa.com.”
The committee charged with the Gor Mahia elections is scheduled to meet all the aspirants in the forthcoming elections on a date yet to be settled on in one of the ways aimed at ensuring the process runs in a free and fair manner.
According to the club’s vice chair Faiz Ochieng, the club management agreed in a meeting that a date be determined to hold a meeting with all the aspirants to help stem the cases of violence witnessed in the botched exercise in December.
Body to run the elections
He as well revealed that the club has requested the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to help come up with a body that will conduct the elections which are tentatively set for Sunday 19 January at the Bomas of Kenya.
-We agreed in a meeting that to prevent a repeat of the December incident we need to call all the aspirants to a meeting and agree on the modalities concerning the whole exercise. We are also looking to have in place a body to oversee the elections and we have requested the federation to assist on that.
-The voters’ cards are ready and plans are underway to secure Bomas of Kenya as the venue for the exercise – I think all that remains is paying for the venue.
Detractors
-I also want to call on some people who are bent on ensuring this process doesn’t take off to remember that they are holding this club and many important activities at ransom. Some are calling on a change in the constitution and as much as I am not opposed to it, I say this is not the right time. Let us first clear with elections then the elected officials will do that as they wish, he told futaa.com.
The elections, initially planned for Sunday 15 December turned chaotic before FKF stepped in to give the club 30 days to plan the exercise afresh.
Written 13/01-14 19:04 by Dan Ngulu
PUTTING FOOTBALL FIRST AT GOR MAHIA
@oduor12, what you have presented is an article that appeared in the press. Please note memorandum is not an agenda for conducting an AGM. It must be included as the Agenda of the meeting. Agenda for AGM must be circulated within a specified period of time for discussion during the AGM.
@Oduor12, stop mixing things here. Yes the club can belong to members but if members do not have agenda, the matter will not be discussed during the AGM. In normal circumstances, agendas are what guides the meeting deliberations.
@Oduor12, you also spoken about memorandum. Please note that memorandum if not included as part of the AGM or any other special meeting agenda can not be discussed in any properly constituted meeting. Can ensure that it is included in the AGM agenda?
My suggestion @Oduor12 is that you should write to the executive committee or club secretary for this proposal to be included in the AGM as being part of the Agenda. Also ensure that you give notice to the people or officials conducting the election for the proposal to be included as the agenda.
@Oduor12, who is a member of the club?
We bloggers or fans if we are not registered by paying the prescribed registration fee or membership fee, we are not qualified to be members of the club. Membership is determined by subscription of the stated registration fees that must be done annually and it is only members that the law requires them to participate in the AGM or SGM or EGM.
Members are also shareholders any any registered entity or company. Members must also attend and participate in any properly constituted meeting such as AGM or SGM or EGM. In this regard, it is the duty of members to participate, deliberate, vote and pass resolutions in any of these meetings.
It is not about inactive members who do not not attend the members but such members can sign proxy forms.
In this regard, the memorandum you are talking about does not qualify for any business deliberations if it is not included in the agenda for the meeting. You may as well get advice from a lawyer or company secretary for proper guidance.
All i can say is there is REALITY & there is theory/ the ideal position.
When a lady of the home walks around with an increasingly bulging stomach 4 months its because she is most likely pregnant & not because she is suffering from acute gastrisis/a stomach tumour.
You do not have had 2 witness the actual act between her & her husband but can conclude by the strong circumstancial evidence that the act took place.
Just like a gate collection of 9.1million means gross malpractice/ corruption by EC!
The good news from the Gor camp( as reported on michezo afrika) is that Adede has been proposed for the Vice Chair during the elections. This would be a good chance for him to ‘penetrate’ the Gor EC and understudy AR with a view to taking over in future. It’s also a good chance to cool emotions. We have had enough PEVs (Post Election Violence) in Kenya that we should be spared another round of election fiacso and comedy.
All the best wishes to the voters and candidates and may the best win. Let’s use our heads and not hearts to vote.
Brother Dan Original, what should we make of those very serious allegations about Adede in Botswana that one of us bloggers posted in this site soon after the aborted December elections? I seriously need direction.
Barefoot, I totally agree with you. We need to know more background about Eric Adede and if he has cobwebs in his closet, then fit and proper test should determine his fate.
My vote is for Ambrose Rachier for the Chairman.
Kiongera trains with KCB
Paul Kiongera
Kiongera trains with KCB
(Photo: Vincent Opiyo / futaa.com)
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Kenyan International Paul Mungai Kiongera is currently training with his former club KCB .
The International, who was recently said to have signed a contract extension with 2013 Champions, Gor Mahia, trained with KCB on Friday 17 January at the City Stadium.
friendly
Kiongera, who was named in Gor’s CAF squad, is part of the KCB squad that is currently taking on Division One side Kariobangi Sharks in a froendly match.
Wakili Ambrose Rachier has done very well. What we need is a strong dedicated team to work with him. Let us go for tested club officials but not people shrouded with dubious pasts. Change is good but not just for the sake of it. AR aendelee na kazi.
For God and my beloved club – Kogallo
what is the situation with kiongera?
9.1m is close to what they collected when we played AFC. Udanganyifu nayo
@ BB is very right, and on the same breath GB must come clean on the Situmbeko the cash saga which ranges between $6,000-$50,000.00.
To Kiongera & maybe Timona, my advice is theatrics, press statements & appeals to the EC will not earn you a starting position in GM, at least not under BW.
Timona should not feel threatened by the new recruits since last year he managed to break into the Ist team. I actually thought Mutiso (good attitude) & Kiongera should be most concerned.
Lastly on reflection why is GM showing so much promise? I trace this to the high level/octane debate on this very blog (I in 2011 that saw the ouster of Ziko as coach) that insisted on the engagement of a foreign coach.
Though local coaches may be good their main undoing is that they are always sucked into the politics of both the officials/players & even fans.
BW has stayed above the fray more so than even Logarusic who put us on the path to recovery.
That to me is the main difference. So my Kudos is to the bloggers (& by extension the fans/members), then to the TB/BW then to AR (Lakini the administratively lapses by the committee you head are for the lack of better word phenomenal/spectacular) & maybe Ngala. I note that after GB’s initial blundering he’s the one who appeared to handle the later transactions.
Which begs the question What does Kilo, Faiz, OJ, Roselinder, Ominde & Okuku (of the 9.1m gate collection saga), Nyadega
All this promise could be but a foundation built on sand unless members sort out the EC.
LET’S PUT FOOTBALL FIRST IN GOR MAHIA.
@ 11 Erico Jarae – I’m equally shocked to hear that ‘our player’ is training with KCB. Maybe he hasn’t signed any contract extension at Gor Mahia!
We have never collected anything above 6m. When we played Ingwe they collected 5m and we collected some 3m. Our collected was small due to the fan chaos that had preceeded that match. We should also note that the figure there is gross and not net. But all this does not absolve our EC from issue of misappropriation of funds. The problem witt us is that we don’t do some background check or due diligence on people who want to lead gor. In case one has no source of income the temptation to dip their hands into the cookie jar would just be too much to resist.
On Kiongera I hope what I read is not true but if it is, then we can only count our losses and move on. Personally I still believe we can get an even better player than him with the passion and fire in the belly to wear the gor jersey and perform. The times and days of relying on potential which is never unleashed is long gone. I hope it is not an issue of a player blackmailing a team, I hear Lavatsa was offering 250k to sign an extension. A lot of average players will play their legs off for that amount of money. Or is the signing of Kenga and BB scaring some of the players off?
Sometime in 2012 Gor Mahia EC really used to account for all monies and gate collections really used to be very high. Imagine comparing 2012 and 2013, gate charges for 2012 used to be slightly lower. So how come since 2013 we have been collected very little amounts?
The other time we had a match with AFC at Kasarani I heard from media that some of the officials could be involved in fake ticket sales. Is this true or it was just propaganda? Anyone with info pls.
Looks like it is official that Kiongera has gone back to KCB, claiming that he used to be played out of position. I wonder which position he wanted. When Danny was misfiring or missing we counted on him to step into his shoes but for a whole season there is nothing to show apart from potential. As fans we believed that he will deliver and were really supportive. I hope he finds the peace and rediscovers himself at KCB. This is also a good chance for gor to get a more commited player as well as the chance for KEVO and the likes to shine.
On finances and mismanagement we can change that this weekend during the elections and put the right people in those places. Otherwise it will be ironical to continue ‘crying’ about ‘bad’ leadership which we are doing nothing to eliminate or eradicate
Finance, finance the past always informs the future. Lets have financial management at Gor relooked at carefully, if not things will one day come down tumbling. mI hope there will be a new approach after the election.
On Kiongera, what is that? wasn’t the name sent to CAF? Betrayal, how could it be that after the name was sent to CAF he jumps off, choosing a time that there is no possibility of replacement? Somebody please come on and clarify.
Am a bit confused on Kiongera. Is he part of K’Ogalo squad or Not? If he is not and chose to jump ship at the eleventh hour, then I think it is not sportsmanship. The most frustrating thing I see is when he fails to click at KCB, It would be very difficult to play. In a local league likes ours, a player may carry that guilt for some time because you meet the people you know to be belonging to that other side at every corner you turn. Take for example, Eric Masika, he is still struggling. His contract renewed with strings attached. He is being observed on the ground that he had a bad year last year. You do not have to cut the tree branch on which you are hanging or sitting. you will hit the ground headlong. Let us hope it is not true.On money issues I would just like to say that if the crowd entering the stadium is supposed to give a true picture of financial income and it does not tally, then something is wrong. Either a greater number is entering without paying, paying themselves or actually paying the right amount but the money gets misused. Both are serous offenses and should be fought by all means even if it means using “pocketblow instead of alchoblow”
@jathur gi ji, the issue is not about betrayal but about blackmail. This chap is a KCB player. We know the kind of hooligans running the affairs of our club.
He came to Kogalo on a 1 year loan. KCB have never sold him to us. At what point did he become our player? It is us who are trying to sign him by all methods, including the crude ones.
Mid season will not be too far, then we will try to force Kenga to some of our unorthodox methods and the next thing you will see is the boy training with Bandari.
I have always suspected that the reason our club suffers could be because of the political methods of one key supporter. The leadership thrives in confusion. Nothing should ever be clear. Money can’t disappear without confusion. The aborted elections had a clear print of the same supporter.
Jo Gor, let us be fair to the EC. Gate collection for all our home matches could not have been more than what has been stated. Take an average gross collections of Ksh.1,000,000/= per game. When you deduct mandatory expenses (FKF, KPL, Referees, Security, stadium hire) the balance comes to about 700K. 700K multiply by 15 home matches comes to around 10M. I honestly don’t see anything wrong with the figures give by EC. Otherwise I stand to be educated or corrected if I got my maths wrong. Some of us have a fixed mind that there is money to steal in Gor. May be we need to ask George Bwana if he has managed to steal anything. I remember he used to be very loud during his blogging days before being elected. There is nothing to steal in Gor. Those aspiring for positions in the club with an intention of lining their pockets, will be surprised.
For God and my beloved club – Kogallo
Forget kiongera, he wa never a gor mahia player, my contact informs me that is loan period expired on 31 st December 2013. Gor mahia tried to renew it but Kcb never responded to the request therefore the guy has honorably returned to his club. The is a lot of manipulation at gor mahia, they will only go for you if they really need you.
You see, gor mahia though that Kcb will listen to their request for contract extension hende the inclusion in the caf list but it appears the player is bent on returning to his former club.
Let forget about kiongera and love on, after all we shall riek force in June , the next transfer window if need arises.
God giveth and God taketh. We thank you Kiongera for your contribution. You met your end of the bargain and we met ours too. We shall remember your goals in Re-Union. Thank you. They say mwenye nguvu mpishe. You have done well to give way to the might of the Kengaroo…and trust me he will surely deliver with his trade mark kengaroo gallops and dribbles in the wings. Fare thee well.
Some of us here who shout the loudest are the once who force themselves into the stadium free in the name of supporting GOR have a concrete evidence to this n its not allegation,some bloggers here do that its only that i don’t want to call names here but they know themselves,so when u see the stadium full know that almost 3/4 either forced themselves or bribes their way into the stadium,so please lets not always critic,i humbly request some of us here when the season starts to just keep watch at the gate n see what is happening there u will be surprised never to talk again
HOW ON EARTH DOES EC SUBMIT THE NAME OF A PLAYER 2 CAF ONLY 4 THE SAID PLAYER 2 JOIN ANOTHER CLUB 2 DAYS LATER.
CAN EC CONFIRM THAT THERE R NO MORE PLAYERS IN GM CAF LIST WITHOUT CONTRACTS!
2 ME ITS AS SIMPLE AS ABCD IF U HAVEN’T SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH GM THEN U R NOT A GM PLAYER & HENCE UA NAME CAN’T B SUBMITTED 2 CAF.
WILL WE REPORT MK 2 FIFA, POWER DYNAMO & SITUMBEKO MUST B LAUGHING THEIR HEADS OFF.
STRUCTURES, STRUCTURES, STRUCTURES AT LEAST LETS AVE TRANSPARENT BALLOT BOXES
@oduor12, we have The rescheduled Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 19 January 2014, as a fully paid up member of Gor Mahia, have you presented the Agenda to the Election Board or Club Secretary that should be included for deliberations during the annual general meeting? We still have time may be up to 9am today for the agendas to be forwarded for inclusion in the order paper for AGM consideration.
It would be hypocritical if you don’t do this noble task my friend. We bloggers can’t help unless we have officials blogging too in this site.
@Mwakio, unfortunately there is no AGM this time. The only agenda is elections
@Kosero I hope bloggers have understood your maths. Before we say money is stolen because the stadium is full do we know that as gor fans ourselves we force or connive with the gate keepers to enter the stadium free of charge. @Eric Jarae is right in this case. We are even proud to discuss how we entered free or with ‘recycled’ tickets. I have personally witnessed this and whoever has not can only be a sofaset branch member (no @Kosero in this instance). We should also note that the figures we have as gate collection are gross figures and after deductions almost a quarter is used for stadium hire, FKF, security etc etc. leaving a measly figre. And the money from the sponsor is also barely enough to pay the players and TB. So as far as I know someone (am told the Patron and AR) have actually been using their personal finances to help bridge the gap and sign/re-sign the new and old players. So we have to appreciate that the team doesn’t have money as some of us think. Unless we get a sponsor who will bring in at least 100m (which is not possible with the current economic situation here) someone must fill that void and it can only be the EC, well wishers and us as fans
At least I now rest my case regarding kiongera after being reminded that he was on loan to us and he was never our player. But after watching our friendly game on saturday, I think Kiongera made a right move.
K’Ogalo oyieeeeeh.