Zimbabwe to tour Pakistan for ODI series

[PieChucker]

Let me give you some detailed information about the devil called Ozias Bvute, the idiot behind all this mess we are crying about day and night.
Joseph Madyembwa with legendary West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle
Before Bvute joined the ZC (Zimbabwe Cricket) he had just returned from Botswana where his public relations company closed down/bankrupt under some unclear circumstances. He apparently left a huge debt. He then opened a company here called Rhizoma Invest t/a as P & C Limited.

This company was also struggling and had huge debts. He then got involved with ZC through Max Ebrahim whose wife is from Botswana. He attended a few Intergration Meetings and impressed with his command in English and was appointed on the ZC Board and assumed the position of Director of Integration.

He plotted his was up and became the Managing Director and with (Peter) Chingoka took control of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. They got rid of every director that knew something about cricket and in one year from a bank balance of USD$8 million left when Vince Hogg was the MD, the coffers were cleaned up.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe got involved, Chingoka and Bvute even got arrested but got away with fines because of their strong political connections. Several players were also caught up in the fiasco and were arrested and later released without charges.

A vote of no confidence was passed by the provinces but the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) ruled in their favour and they were reappointed to run ZC. The rest is history. Ozias now claims that he loaned ZC his own money. Where the hell did he get that sort of cash?

He claims his wife who is a doctor earns $300 a month and our “UNEDUCATED PLAYERS” do not deserve any money. If the claims are true that she earns USD$300 a month so how the hell did she open a Golf Shop called Golf USA in Borrowdale with stocks worth over USD$500,000?

ZC also controversially purchased an OB Van (OZIAS BVUTE VAN / OUTSIDE BROADCAST VAN excuse the banter) and the price was inflated.

Where is this van now and how much revenue has it brought to ZC?

At one Stage it was being hired in countries like Malawi and Tanzania. Where are all the proceeds?

He used to lie to people thats its in South Africa for maintenance yet in Zimbabwe there were qualified engineers who used to do maintenance work before and during the games.

Joseph Madyembwa - Nehanda Radio.

[Flakeman]

Story of Africa really. All the resources but greedy people at the top cant help themselves sticking their fingers in the pie. Thats why the continent will never move forward. Sad truth.

[grant]

September 30, 2004 (ESPNCricinfo, Steven Price)

Bvute is something of a mysterious figure. Enquiries as to his exact role within the ZCU produce little of any substance, and repeated requests to the board for clarification remain unanswered. Even getting hold of a photograph of him is impossible. Officially, Bvute is the head of marketing, but like so much in Zimbabwe, the title appears barely to hint at his exact role within the organisation.

Several sources said that anyone visiting the board's offices in Harare recently were left in no doubt that while Chingoka was in London on ICC business, Bvute was running the show. Chingoka was keen to play that down when questioned, but whatever his official role, Bvute is a major player and appears to have assumed the role of managing director following the resignation of Vince Hogg last month.

Bvute is described by those who have dealing with him as articulate, loud and flashy. He drives a BMW X5, wears stylish suits, and displays all the trappings of success in modern Zimbabwe. He is young - estimates put him in his early thirties - and runs his own business in Harare. One journalist told me that Bvute "knows how to push the right and wrong buttons with people. He understands power, and can be intimidating intellectually and with his physical presence."

Bvute's cricket credentials appear almost non-existent, and his appointment in 2001 to the ZCU was as head of the Integration Implementation Committee, putting him in charge of the union's integration policy relating to the advancement of black players. Many have described this role as being that of a "political commissar", and from the off his links with the ruling Zanu-PF regime have been widely reported.

Almost nothing is known about Bvute before that appointment, although Henry Olonga, the former Zimbabwe fast bowler who fled the country after his famous black-armband protest during the 2003 World Cup, said that Bvute and Max Ebrahim had already established a hardline organisation called the Campaign to Eradicate Racism in Zimbabwean Cricket. "They were pretty militant in their attitude," Olonga recalled, "and were prepared to accuse people of being racist and to take drastic measures, such as calling the black players out of the mixed local leagues and getting them to form their own all-black league."

Bvute first began to attract more widespread attention during the World Cup when he tried to get Andy Flower dropped after he had also donned a black armband, a move which was thwarted when several leading players threatened to refuse to play. Bvute backed down, but was soon back in the limelight when a few days later he kicked Olonga off the team bus and ordered him to stop wearing Zimbabwe cricket kit.

Bvute's intimidatory side was again in evidence at the ZCU's AGM later that year when one or two dissenters suggested that Robert Mugabe, the president of the board, did not deserve to be re-elected on the nod. "If the member knows what is good for his health," Bvute snarled, "he will desist from asking such questions."

While Bvute's supporters play down his connections with the Mugabe government, few actually believe that the two are not closely linked. "He constantly tells team members that he has been to [information minister] Jonathan Moyo's office and been talking to him about cricket issues," one former player said. "If that's not being involved in politics in Zimbabwe today, nothing is."

But the extent of Bvute's influence really became apparent during the Heath Streak crisis in April. Some claim that Bvute triggered the whole affair when he announced that Dion Ebrahim, of Asian descent and classified black for selection purposes, would be reclassified as white, thus limiting places in national teams this year to four white players. Streak objected, and Bvute demanded that Chingoka sack him. Accounts of what actually happened in the next few days vary, but what is not in question is that when Vince Hogg, the managing director of the ZCU and second only to Chingoka, brokered a possible compromise, he was immediately overruled by Bvute. It was then that his real standing became clear.

In the next few months Bvute's antics did little to help the ZCU's cause. At the end of April he was involved in a public scuffle with Steve Mangongo, the chairman of selectors. Witnessess say that Mangongo was arguing that he had to have the freedom to pick the best side, white or black, while Bvute told him that he had to "pick who he was told to pick". A tussle ensued which ended with Mangongo in a heador arm-lock, depending on which account you believe. Mangongo, a hardliner himself, stood down four months later, and was replaced by Bvute's close ally, Max Ebrahim.

As the crisis deepened, Bvute's true colours became more visible. "It appears like they waited for someone to slip up," said Olonga, "and as soon as Streak made those demands, he was fired. And anyone who stood up with him was gone as well."

On the pitch, Zimbabwe were in freefall, and Bvute wasn't a happy man. When Pommie Mbangwa, a former Zimbabwe international turned commentator, dared to criticise the new-look side, Bvute stormed into the media box and told him that he was sacked. He later relented. And when Zimbabwe were humiliatingly bowled out for 35, Bvute reportedly turned on the (white) groundsman and blamed him for preparing a pitch designed to embarrass the Zimbabwe side.

Over the summer Bvute assumed even more importance. In May he accompanied Chingoka for high-level meetings at Lord's with the England & Wales Cricket Board. His increasing profile led to Lord Avebury, in the House of Lords, demanding that he, along with Chingoka, be banned from travelling to the European Union as they were "close supporters and collaborators of the [Mugabe] regime". Avebury described Bvute as the board's Zanu-PF representative.

As the ZCU's August annual general meeting loomed, there were rumours that some of the provincial associations were planning on opposing the existing board. Bvute's response was to try to gain a foothold at a provincial level. It was alleged that he offered Vumindaba Moyo, a leading candidate to become chairman of Matabeleland, a job within the ZCU so that Moyo would campaign for him instead. But Bvute had almost no links with Matabeleland, and Moyo is reported to have told him to "go to hell". As it was, the rebellion never materialised, and Bvute was re-elected.

Almost all those who have opposed Bvute have now left the ZCU - either of their own volition or sacked. As his power grows, so does his own perception of his influence, and journalists who have dared to oppose the board have been intimidated by him.

The latest indication of his status came when a source close to the ZCU revealed that Bvute had called in the Zimbabwe squad shortly before they left to take part in the Champions Trophy and told them that he was in charge and, as such, they should all call him "Sir".

And now the only person nominally above Bvute in the ZCU food chain is Chingoka. His position is safe, as he is an identifiable figurehead. Even Bvute realises that the cricket world would not tolerate someone with as little experience as him emerging as the new head of the ZCU. But Chingoka, a natural survivor, has realised which way the wind is blowing, and his utterances of late have been far more bullish than before.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Bvute continues to exert more influence. What is sure is that while he has his hands on the reins, there will be no compromises and no chance of any settlement with the rebels.

[grant]

March 11, 2004 was a pivotal day in Zimbabwe's cricket history. That afternoon, with preparations for a one-day international against Bangladesh completed, Streak was summoned to the Zimbabwe Cricket Union's offices by managing director Vince Hogg. The issue was the racial composition of the team, which included just two players of colour. It had been selected by Macsood Ebrahim and his panel, which comprised coach Geoff Marsh, Ali Shah and Stephen Mangongo, and had been signed off by ZCU vice-chairman Justice Ahmed Ebrahim, Macsood's father. Streak and Marsh found Hogg with Shah and "Max" Ebrahim when they arrived, but the man who had called the meeting, Ozias Bvute, was not there. Hogg dialled him up on speakerphone, and Bvute's message was clear: the team was not representative enough and it would be re-selected. Streak recalls: "I said, 'Well, this side's been selected by Ali Shah and Max Ebrahim and Stephen, so how can you say it's racist: there are no whites involved. And Geoff Marsh, who's advising them, is an Australian. Do you know the ramifications of doing this? Because the team's been announced and I'm not going to go and tell a guy he's been dropped and not tell him why.'" Bvute eventually arrived along with Mashonaland Cricket Association chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani and general manager Givemore Makoni. Things became heated. Makoni threatened to dig up the pitch at the Harare Sports Club if the team was not changed. In an effort to find some middle ground, Max Ebrahim suggested Andy Blignaut and Mark Vermeulen be left out, given that they had recently recovered from injuries. Streak would not countenance the idea. The meeting dragged on for more than four hours before it was adjourned without a resolution. Shortly after, Justice Ebrahim arrived and spoke with the Mashonaland contingent. It was agreed that the match would go ahead without changes to the team or sabotage to the venue, but that more black players would be selected in future.

"I'd never seen or heard of Ozias before that," says Streak, "and I'll never forget him standing up and saying: 'The team we've got is a losing team anyway, and it's just a white team, so we might as well just pick a team that's more reflective of the demographics of this country.' "In principle I didn't think it was a bad thing, and I think to be honest a lot of the black guys felt that it was a good thing, but it had to be realistic and structured."

"Ozias was much more radical, wanting change quicker, and didn't mind hurting cricket," says Hogg. "I think he had pressure coming from other people that I didn't know about. They had meetings away from cricket and he used to come with an agenda to meetings - I could see that. So he was just trying to push, and I don't think he cared about cricket that much. Not as much as Peter, who came from a cricket background."

Since then, ZC has borrowed millions of dollars from MetBank, in which Bvute holds significant shares. ZC officials say that without those loans cricket would not have been able to continue. Others ask who gains the most from the relationship, and there have certainly been instances where the bank's interests have been put first - most notably in 2012 when a $6m loan from the ICC was not used to retire a portion of ZC's high-interest debt as it was designed to, and was instead deposited in a non-interest-bearing account with MetBank. More than one stakeholder in Zimbabwean cricket has suggested that the rebel saga served a key purpose for those with eyes on the guaranteed foreign currency that ZC brings in: getting rid of any players who would stand in their way.

"One can look at it that way," says Taibu. "Another can come along and say these people didn't have any cricketing background so they didn't know how things worked. Which cannot be true because of all these other stories that are coming up now - that we are $20m in the red. If someone has come in and doesn't know how to run things, and they find, okay, they've made a blunder here and start trying to run it properly, then how does [the debt] accumulate like that?"

[zimbos_05]

Essentially, Ozias Bvute is the man who killed Zim Cricket, and whilst he is still around, he will continue to drive a dagger right through its heart as long as he comes out on top with money and power.



Is it really wrong to wish something happens to him in Pakistan?

[Flakeman]

Great articles. The stupidity is just mind blowing. Utter fools. Killing peoples dreams for a few bucks.

[sloandog]

Conant?

[jimmylesaint]

With our new zimbabwe cents up to 50cents and our own currency coming back in the next year- no wonder Bvute has moved back to the organisation that guarantees forex.
When i say moved back i mean physically- he's always been pulling strings from afar.
Really though, Wilson is screwed at the July elections which is a shame as he has made steady progress and been fair.

[Flakeman]

Why Jimmy? who is gonna be the new chairman?

[eugene]

Reporter Stephen Price is rather mysterious also. He doesn't actually exist, or at least I can't find any evidence he does. I think he was invented by Cricinfo. Neither John Ward nor Dean du Plessis have any clue who he is and both doubt his true existence.