Football organisation, Kashif and Shanghai (K&S) yesterday acknowledged a debt to the Guyana National Stadium at Providence on the East Bank and says it hopes to settle the matter quickly.
The statement from K&S followed a series of reports in Stabroek News that it, PPP/C MP Odinga Lumumba and promotional group Hits and Jams were indebted to the stadium.
K&S said: “In response to publicly disseminated information regarding outstanding sums owing to the Ministry of Education for use of the National Stadium for the staging of its 2014/2015 Annual Football Tournament…the Kashif and Shanghai Org. wishes to confirm that partial payment was made and a balance remains to be made in respect of use of the stadium for the aforementioned event. The delay in completing the payment is due to the fact that discourses between the stadium management and the Kashif Organization over the amount remaining to be paid are ongoing.
“It is the intention of the our organization to immediately respond to the summons of the Ministry of Education with a view to ensuring satisfactory settlement of this matter in the shortest possible time.”
Stabroek News has learnt that the combined debt of the three is just over $3 million, with Hits and Jams’ debt dating back to 2012.
A notice in Saturday’s Kaieteur News asked that Lumumba, the Kashif and Shanghai organisation and Hits and Jams entertainment make contact with either the Ministry of Education’s Department of Culture, Youth and Sport or the National Stadium Manager’s office to settle their accounts.
Lumumba had told Stabroek News on Saturday that the Alpha United Football Club, of which he is the President, owes monies for the use of the facilities at the National Stadium at some point over a year ago.
The former presidential adviser claimed that the management of the stadium has been “discriminating against football” by charging significantly more money for football than cricket and proclaimed that his club would not pay the debt until the charges were clearly explained to them.
However, according to invoices seen by Stabroek News, Lumumba’s debt of $673,300 is in relation to the use of the stadium for the hosting of three games in Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championships in April of 2015.
The games, which were held on April 15th, April 17th, and April 19th of this year involved Alpha United, Surinamese Unit Inter Moengotapoe and Trinidad and Tobago unit Central FC.
According to Stadium Manager Anthony Xavier, instead of being charged significantly more than other entities, Lumumba was granted a concessionary rate of $50,000 for the rental of the stadium.
This rate is $25,000 less than the rate that is normally charged. The bulk of his bill actually related to the use of the floodlights, the cost of which is $50,000 per hour.
