HARARE – Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) chief executive officer Blessing Chiutare says he will not let detractors sidetrack him from doing his job after his CV was leaked on social media at the weekend.
The local game is currently comatose after the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) two weeks ago suspended the union’s top hierarchy following the Sables’ dismal performance in the 2017 Rugby Afrique Gold Cup competition.
With the top brass suspended, Chiutare was tasked to hold fort in the meantime while the SRC is in the process of formulating an interim board.
However, the infighting in local rugby has not been abated with pseudo characters going on social media to try and tarnish Chiutare’s reputation.
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“I think people are trying to discredit me...somebody has gone overboard and I think one thing they forget is that I’m human too,” Chiutare told the Daily News.
“I have a family and I still need to be respected. I have heard about it but I have not seen it and I will never bother myself about that because there’s no way I would share my personal CV on social media.
“I have not denigrated anyone on any platform. I’m set out to do my job and in the meantime that is what I intend to do.
“People are always going to talk, some have an agenda and they are going to keep hammering but I have no idea why they are doing that.”
Chiutare applied for the ZRU top post in January this year before he was eventually appointed three months ago.
But since his elevation, the Harare Sports Club official has been fighting various allegations with his detractors claiming he is not fit to hold such a vital office in the ZRU.
There are also allegations that his appointment was not above board since there was no proper recruitment process followed by the board led by suspended president Nyararai Sibanda.
Chiutare said he has been working hard in the trenches in the short time he has been in office to get Zimbabwe rugby where it belongs.
“The sad part is that people don’t talk about the positive things happening in the sport right now,” he said.
“People make mistakes but they learn from that and move on with their lives. We are in talks with many different partners as we try to make rugby manageable again.”
SRC board chairperson Edward Siwela said the infighting in local rugby will soon be a thing of the past with the conferment of an interim board by the Sports minister Makhosini Hlongwane anytime this week.
“I’m sure that sometime this week the minister will announce the interim board to run the affairs of ZRU,” Siwela said.
“You need an authority to run any office and any other person not in the fold should not be allowed to make any decisions.”
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