TFF property now to be auctioned?

The Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) risks having some of its property auctioned over failure to pay a debt totalling 28m/-.

CXC Tours and Safaris accountant Richard Simba said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that they had already assigned a debt collector to ensure that the soccer body pays up.

He said Kamugisha Auction Mart had promised them that TFF would pay up with minimum delay but the promise had not been honoured.

“The firm (Kamugisha) has assured us that they normally use one week to collect their clients` debts.

They have told us that the practice is for them to auction the property of defaulting debtors,“ said Simba, whose company TFF owes the money.

He explained that TFF would also be responsible for footing the costs involved in the auctioneers` debt recovery operation, which is equivalent to 10 per cent of the 28m/-.

Elaborating on the matter, Simba said the federation has been giving them empty promises since last December, none of which they had kept.

CXC Tours and Safaris entered into a contract with TFF as the federation`s official transporter during the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup championship, held in Tanzania in December.

The tour firm used 28 Toyota Coasters and 13 saloon cars transporting teams and officials during the entire duration of the regional tourney.

Explained a distraught Simba: “They were supposed to pay us soon after the championship but they didn`t.

They then promised to pay us soon after the start of the second round of the Vodacom Premier League, claiming that they had incurred a loss after the early elimination of hosts Kilimanjaro Stars and Zanzibar Heroes, but the league is ending soon and no payment has been made.“

“We consider the non-payment deliberate because they have been receiving a lot of money from sponsors such as Vodacom, Serengeti Breweries Limited, NMB and GTV.

They have also been receiving an annual $100,000 from FIFA,“ he added.

TFF said they had debts amounting to 79m/- in January, incurred from their hosting of the regional tournament, organised by Cecafa (Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations).

CXC was one of a string of companies which TFF owes money for services rendered. The others include Blue Pearl, Aroche Grand, Durban Hotel, Liiban Hotel, AM Hotel, Ultimate Security Tanzania, Protocol Express, Tanzania Red Cross, Starlight Hotel, and Landmark Hotel.