Young Chimodzi and his assistant Jack Chamangwana, the two Malawi Flames coaches were offered contracts that are far much better than all their predecessors including that of Kinnah Phiri, who took the Flames to 2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals. However the contracts do not mean anything If the principles go unpaid for more than 5 months.
According to a year-long contract made available to Media, Chimodzi was offered a consolidated salary of K20.4 million for a year on a government P2 Grade C. This translates to about K1.7 million per month which is equivalent to that of a Supreme Court judge. Supreme Court Judges however do not go for 5 months without getting paid.
At the end of the contract, Chimodzi is also eligible for a gratuity. Going with what has happened so far the coaches can not rest assured that this graduity will be paid on time If ever.
“The gratuity shall be calculated at the rate of five percent of the officer’s salary earned throughout the contract period. Provided that if the Employee or the Government as the case may be, terminates the contract under Article IX, such gratuity shall be calculated at the rate of 2.5 percent of the officer’s salary. Provided further that such termination occurs not less than three months from the date the agreement is executed,” the contract stipulates.
The contract also has no targets set for the coach and instead it is Football Association of Malawi (Fam) that is responsible for drawing up the duties and responsibilities of the coach.
The performance of the two coaches so far have been mixed, Failing to qualify for AFCON after they left their fate in the hands of Algeria to beat Mali a ploy that failed as many suspected Algeria is still smarting from their loss to Malawi in 2010 AFCON.
However the coaches are assured of no interference from government since only Fam can fire him.
“The Football Association of Malawi shall provide the job description as well as the goals that the Employee shall aim to achieve and be assessed against during the period of this contract agreement,” the contract states.
The only other coach to have enjoyed such a substantial package was Kinnah Phiri, who was getting about K1.2 million back in 2010. When Kinnah was fired, his successors Eddington Ng’onamo, Patrick Mabedi and Ernest Mtawali got even much less.
Tom Saintfiet, who succeeded the trio, worked as a volunteer with a very good per diem package.
Chimodzi and Chamangwana were heard complained during the week that they got a raw deal from the contracts and want them reworked.
“There was nothing like we should sit down and go through the contracts. They were just thrown at us to sign,” Chimodzi was quoted by a local daily.
Sadly a blame game has since ensued among Fam, government and the coaches, who have not been paid for five months. FAM or whoever is responsible for paying the coaches should pay them. No one should work for 180 days without getting paid.
However, Ministry of Sports’ Principal Secretary Justin Saidi said the coaches had discussion with Sports Council officials before they were given the contracts to sign.
Saidi also said the coaches would be paid their salaries this month including arrears from August to December.
