Ferwafa struggles to pay Cecafa debts

The Rwanda Football Association (Ferwafa) is yet to pay over Rwf257m it owes different service providers including hotels and transport agencies that were contracted during the Cecafa Kagame Cup hosted in Rwanda in August. Fourteen teams participated and were hosted in different hotels across Kigali. The Ferwafa spokesman Moussa Hakizimana acknowledged that the federation is yet to pay some hotels and transport agencies but added that the process to pay is on course. The Ministry of Sports and Culture (MINISPOC) and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) are working on the issue, according to Hakizimana. The Marketing manager of the Nyamirambo based Kigali View hotel, Nadia Nkera told this paper that they are disappointed. “Ferwafa had promised to pay us all the money before the end of the tournament but until now they have not. They are telling us to wait and we are fed up.” “We have lost much. We took loans to sustain the services towards the teams so it is not understandable. They should have organised the budget before the tournament. Next time they need to be serious and I think we cannot deal with them anymore,” she said. Nkera further explained that Ferwafa only paid Rwf15m and still owes the hotel over Rwf25m. Kigali View hotel hosted three clubs including El Merreikh of Sudan, Azam from Tanzania and KCCA from Uganda. One of the team guides who requested to remain anonymous revealed that he has only received half of the money promised which was Rwf300,000. He said, “I only received Rwf150,000 but waiting for this long is very frustrating.” Hakizimana blames MINISPOC for promising a budget that was none existent. “We did not expect this. They had told us that the budget is there but they only paid half of what was expected. We are dealing with the issue and it may delay but the government is aware.” The total budget was Rwf417m but MINISPOC has only paid Rwf160m and the unpaid dues are worth Rwf257m.