Govt Vetoes FAZ Coach Appointment

Sports Minister Emmanuel Mulenga says government will not sign the work permit of Serbian Vaselin Jelusic to take up the Chipolopolo job as FAZ had not advertised the job.

Mulenga told journalists this morning that government disapproved of the FAZ choice for national coach as his appointment was not according to government procedure.

“Whatever money we want to spend as government we should have value for it. And we will not consent to that, if FAZ has gone ahead, I am sorry it is government which issues work permits. They should be ready to give him a work permit,” he said.

The minister said FAZ had single sourced the candidate for the coaching job leading to government directing them to re-commence the process.

“Whatever money government spends is tax payers’ money and tax payers’ money should be used prudently according to the financial regulations. So the financial regulations or the Employment Act states that for any position to be given to an individual should be advertised,” Mulenga said.

“If it was not advertised, government cannot buy into it. In everything that FAZ or the ministry is doing should be transparent and accountable to the Zambian people.”

He added: “As ministry of sports we are not going for that coach. That is single sourcing, we will not go for single sourcing. Let them advertise, we have advised them.”

Mulenga said the coach did not meet the benchmarks of a coach worth of the Chipolopolo brand.

“Coming from the experience of the same coach, we did a research, he was coaching Botswana and he never coached for so long and he was taken from coaching the national team to academies. I mean, is that what we need? That is not our level,” he said.

“How do we bring someone who was coaching youth and school going boys to come and coach our national team? That is not what we need.”

Last week FAZ announced that it would unveil a coach to commence preparations for the qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

However, FAZ’s choice has been rejected by government.

FAZ had settled for Serbian Physical Education Professor and coach who has previously drilled Angola and Botswana.

His last posting was as coach of Bloemfontein Celtic in South Africa in 2018.

The Chipolopolo job has been vacant from February when Belgian national Sven Vandenbroeck’s contract was not renewed after he failed to qualify Zambia to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.