Monrovia – The 2019 edition of Liberia Basketball Association (LBA) is expected to kick off this weekend but several stakeholders are not pleased with the time given by the association’s administration for the completion of registration for the league.
Report by A. Macaulay Sombai.sombai@FrontPageAfricaonline.com-0777217428
One of such stakeholders is Mr. Abraham Samukai, president of female division side, K-Delta.
In an exclusive interview with FrontPageAfrica, Samukai said the LBA informed him and other stakeholders about the association’s 2019 league registration after one complete week of the process, which he said was not fair to them as stakeholders of the association.
According to Samukai, it is the obligation of the LBA administration to inform its member clubs about the scheduled date of the new league so that they will start to put together their teams for the league.
He accused the Rufus Anderson administration of failing to inform them at least a month to the beginning of the registration process but only informed them a week to the end of the registration process. According to him, information has created setback for the most of teams that want to participate in the league.
When it comes to the US$500 debt K-Delta owes the Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) Africa, Samukai agreed that his team owes FIBA-Africa but called on the LBA leadership to give them time to pay the money.
It can be recalled that the LBA administration on February 15, 2019 wrote some stakeholders of the association including K-Delta that are owing FIBA Africa to pay their debts by March 10, 2019 or else the LBA might be sanctioned by FIBA Africa from all basketball activities.
Letter received by K-Delta president from the LBA about the money K-Delta owed FIBA Africa reads:
“I present compliments of the Liberia Basketball Association and use this medium to inform you that FIBA Africa has written to inform the Liberia Basketball Association about a pending ban and sanction of the LBA from its activities if debts owed FIBA Africa by your team is not paid by March 10, 2019.
Referencing the above, your club is requested to pay the amount of (US$ 500.00) five hundred United States Dollars into the LBA Account for onward remittance to FIBA Africa within the special time frame as per the attached details or risk ban from all basketball and related activities until the said indebtedness is fully settled.”
On the other hand, first division side Timberwolves president also acknowledged that his team was never informed about the registration process.
Mr. Tobias A. Bowen stressed that when he heard about the registration process, he made clear to Anderson that as president of Timberwolves, he was never informed about the registration process of the upcoming league season, and that Anderson’s answer to him was that LBA is not responsible to inform members about its registration process.
Said Bowen: “Anderson said to me that it is not his leadership’s obligation to inform us as club officials about LBA registration process but rather we as club officials need to listen to radio or read from newspapers if we wish to get any information about the LBA.”
Bowen highlighted that it is the obligation of the LBA official to hold congress before the start of ever new league and during that congress all stakeholders will be informed about the scheduled date of the new league but added that the Anderson leadership has failed to do so for the past three seasons.
