A local issue that needs an international solution

The revelation that Zimbabwe Cricket has appointed a firm called Ruzengwe and Partners to undertake the forensic audit of its accounts is the latest development in the sad tale which is cricket in Zimbabwe.

At a time when transparency is demanded, by appointing a small, albeit locally reputable, Harare-based firm to carry out the work, Zimbabwe Cricket has effectively snubbed internal dissenters in particular and the cricket world in general.

The board in general and Peter Chingoka, the chairman of both the old and the interim executives, have been accused of a string of financial irregularities by senior stakeholders. The accounts, controversially passed at September's AGM, have been queried, and, if reports are to be believed, large sums are unaccounted for. There may be substance to some or all of the accusations, or, as Chingoka and his board maintain, they might be totally scurrilous. Whatever the truth, the crucial thing is that if the board is to be given a clean bill of health, the findings should be beyond reproach.

Demands for a forensic audit stem back to last year, but in January, when the interim board was appointed by the government, it said that an audit would be undertaken by "a firm of auditors of international repute". With the best will in the world, Razanke & Partners, a firm which, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Zimbabwe, a sole practitioner and three clerks, cannot reasonably be expected to undertake such a large and complex task. Nor by any stretch of the imagination are they of international repute. Whatever the firm finds or doesn't find - and it should be stressed that there is no reason to doubt their credibility - it is unlikely to silence those who question the board's every move.

The other issue is that the terms of reference for the audit are defined by the ZC interim board ... headed by Chingoka, the same man who was in charge at the time the alleged irregularities took place. He, more than anyone, needs to be able to present a clean bill of health, and one without any risk of being rubbished. A large international firm's findings could have restored some of his credibility, both internally and externally.

Clive Field, the former players' association chief executive made one further observation. "In the time which has passed since these issues were highlighted last year, it seems to me there would have been ample opportunity to sanitise the books," he said. "All we could originally hope for was that the audit was done quickly."

It is suggested that the local appointment can partially be explained by the funding crisis facing the board. Bigger, higher-profile accountants were simply out of its price range. Perhaps, given the importance of this audit to the credibility of those running the game in Zimbabwe, it might ahve been in ZC and the ICC's best interests if the latter had helped to finance this investigation.