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Lumumba cries foul over price disparity at National Stadium

Sep 08, 2015 Sports

The National Stadium, Providence, was constructed in 2007 to facilitate World Cup Cricket matches but over the years has been the venue of choice for football tournaments as well as musical shows.
The cost to use the stadium has not been a public disclosure but Head of the McNeal Promotions and President of the Alpha Football Club, Odinga Lumumba, well known for promoting such events, is adamant that he was charged indiscriminately for the use of the venue.
As such, he is challenging those administrators to provide documentary evidence to verify equitability among all users of the venue. Lumumba was responding to an earlier article in this newspaper where officials of the Ministry of Education-Department of Culture, Youth and Sport singled him out as for non-payment after using the facility. Subsequently, Government officials had published a notice in the newspaper requesting him to settle outstanding debts as soon as possible.
“I saw the report in the newspaper and I want to emphatically state that I do not owe any money for the use of the Stadium,” Lumumba pronounced. He labeled the article wicked and erroneous and even threatened to seek redress at the Court of Law.
The head of McNeal Enterprises and President of Alpha United Football Club said that he has doled out millions of dollars in rental fees but felt some measure of discrimination when he booked the venue for two matches under the auspices of CONCACAF and discovered that officials charged other entities far less than what he was required to pay.
“That’s discrimination and officials must produce the price structure so that we could determine the equitability of charges,” said Mr. Lumumba. He said none of the officials found it prudent to write him on the matter even after he had registered those complaints or even after he officially requested that the officials document their concerns.
The promoter/manager said that he even suggested a meeting to ventilate recommendations to appease the matter, all to no avail.
Mr. Lumumba admitted that he had agreed to pay a certain price but reneged on the commitment after he discovered that there was a disparity of charges. “This is an issue of favoritism; Alpha is asked to pay in excess of one million dollars and my contention is that we need to examine the price structures and how it is arrived at,” ranted Lumumba.
He also said that he attempted to have an audience with the two subject Ministers to have the issue resolved but his attempts were futile. “Government should decide on an across the board fee that represents some measure of fairness,” he contends.
But wasn’t Lumumba informed of the applicable fees before he actually agreed to it? “What I agreed to is irrelevant; it was afterwards that I discovered that the price was way above what was asked of other organizations and promoters,” he contends.
He said that provided officials could verify that he owes for the services he receives he is willing and able to meet his obligations.
“If Alpha is culpable and provided we get a fair deal in line with what other entities are being asked to pay we will conform to the demands but it must be fair and in range as what other disciplines are asked to pay,” Lumumba proclaimed.
He said he is prepared to meet with officials to settle the matter.

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