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(NEWZIMBABWE) MDC, ZANU PF Ministers milk parastatals: Moyo

MDC, ZANU PF Ministers milk parastatals: Moyo
09/11/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

SEVERAL cabinet ministers are facing public exposure and possible prosecution for illegally taking allowances and various other freebies from struggling parastatals and state enterprises under their portfolios.

Most government enterprises remain unprofitable and have long been a drain on the national fiscus with the problems blamed on undercapitalisation and poor management.

But it has emerged that Ministers from both Zanu PF and the MDC formations have also been preying on the companies for allowances and perks such as vehicles, in the process, prejudicing the cash-strapped coalition administration of millions of dollars.

State Enterprises Minister Gorden Moyo said financial statements from the companies have revealed that Ministers were taking allowances from the firms and having their hotel and travel bills paid by the firms in violation of the Public Finance Management Act.

“Ministers get vehicles, fuel and have their mobile phone bills paid by the government but it has emerged that they are also forcing parastatals to provide them with the same perks. This is against the Public Finance Management Act and they are violating the law,” Moyo told VOA.

“We are waiting for an on-going audit to be completed and once that is done the statement would be presented to Parliament and those Ministers who are bleeding the parastatals would be exposed.

“Zimbabweans would know who is short-circuiting the rules of procedure and I hope this will be done before Christmas.”

The Anti-Corruption Commission also revealed recently that several Ministers in the coalition government were under investigation for corruption.

“We are not targeting only the small fish as some people may think,” the Commission’s chair, Denford Chirindo said recently.

“There are no sacred cows and all the reports that we have received, including those of several ministers, senior Government officials and MPs are under investigation.”

In 2009 it was revealed that several Cabinet Ministers had taken thousands of dollars from Ziscosteel in allowances and hotels bills even for trips unrelated to the company which was then struggling to survive and is now virtually collapsed.

The weekly Independent newspaper revealed that the company had paid the Industry and Commerce Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi some US$3,000 in allowances while he attended a meeting of the regional SADC body in Botswana.

Other senior government and Zanu PF officials were also said to have had air tickets for foreign travel paid for by the company in addition to taking thousands of dollars in allowances.

Labels: CORRUPTION, GORDEN MOYO, PARASTATALS

posted by MrK @ 3:16 PM