News / National
Vehicle scandal rocks Traffic Safety Council
15 Sep 2017 at 07:26hrs | Views
Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) managing director Obio Chinyere is embroiled in a scandal for allegedly selling a company vehicle in contravention of laid down procedures.
An internal audit carried out at the Council in 2015 unearthed a series of weak internal controls, delinquencies and poor corporate governance.
The audit observed that Chinyere was on January 29 2014, offered a vehicle ABX 6576 valued at $65 000.
Instead of Chinyere paying 10% of the vehicle to the Council as prescribed in his contract, he sought authority from the director of administration and finance Clifford Gobo to sell the vehicle.
This was done in violation of TSCZ standing rules which pronounce that only the board or the ministry (Transport and Infrastructure Development) can authorise such transactions.
The Board Financial handbook section 21 (21,3) states that: "No officer shall include any private moneys in the bank account nor any Council monies a private account and no officer shall permit any monies other than council monies to be kept in Council cash box, safe or strong room."
According to the audit the vehicle sale proceeds could not be traced in all Council bank accounts except
$7 000 which was banked on April 4 in 2014.
The contracts were also silent on the handover and take-over of new vehicles and when the old vehicles were supposed to be surrendered.
The audit findings pointed to weak internal controls and poor corporate governance, which posed a great risk due to loss of funds and asset striping at the Council.
As a result of the above internal weak controls, three Isuzu vehicles owned by top management valued at $40 172 in 2010 had an outstanding balance of $13 372 as at the time of audit.
Moreover, the vehicles registration books were not availed for audit inspection and yet they were supposed to be removed from the company when the vehicle was fully paid.
Contacted for comment last week, Chinyere said it was in line with his terms of conditions before accusing this reporter of getting information from disgruntled fired workers.
"There is nothing like that; my conditions of service are clear on that. You were given that story by someone we fired two years ago who is out to do bad? Tell him I will sue him. It's him who gave you that story," he said last Wednesday.
Quizzed on the reported weak internal controls obtaining at the Council he said: "I am not in Harare and you can come to the office then we talk after two weeks."
Efforts to get a comment from Gobo were fruitless last week as the lady who answered the call at the Council's head office said he was out of the country.
In emailed responses, Tatenda Chinoda, TSCZ's information, communication and technical manager told NewsDay: "Please be advised that those two audit issues you raised were resolved through both internal and external processes of controls and corporate governance."
An internal audit carried out at the Council in 2015 unearthed a series of weak internal controls, delinquencies and poor corporate governance.
The audit observed that Chinyere was on January 29 2014, offered a vehicle ABX 6576 valued at $65 000.
Instead of Chinyere paying 10% of the vehicle to the Council as prescribed in his contract, he sought authority from the director of administration and finance Clifford Gobo to sell the vehicle.
This was done in violation of TSCZ standing rules which pronounce that only the board or the ministry (Transport and Infrastructure Development) can authorise such transactions.
The Board Financial handbook section 21 (21,3) states that: "No officer shall include any private moneys in the bank account nor any Council monies a private account and no officer shall permit any monies other than council monies to be kept in Council cash box, safe or strong room."
According to the audit the vehicle sale proceeds could not be traced in all Council bank accounts except
$7 000 which was banked on April 4 in 2014.
The contracts were also silent on the handover and take-over of new vehicles and when the old vehicles were supposed to be surrendered.
The audit findings pointed to weak internal controls and poor corporate governance, which posed a great risk due to loss of funds and asset striping at the Council.
As a result of the above internal weak controls, three Isuzu vehicles owned by top management valued at $40 172 in 2010 had an outstanding balance of $13 372 as at the time of audit.
Moreover, the vehicles registration books were not availed for audit inspection and yet they were supposed to be removed from the company when the vehicle was fully paid.
Contacted for comment last week, Chinyere said it was in line with his terms of conditions before accusing this reporter of getting information from disgruntled fired workers.
"There is nothing like that; my conditions of service are clear on that. You were given that story by someone we fired two years ago who is out to do bad? Tell him I will sue him. It's him who gave you that story," he said last Wednesday.
Quizzed on the reported weak internal controls obtaining at the Council he said: "I am not in Harare and you can come to the office then we talk after two weeks."
Efforts to get a comment from Gobo were fruitless last week as the lady who answered the call at the Council's head office said he was out of the country.
In emailed responses, Tatenda Chinoda, TSCZ's information, communication and technical manager told NewsDay: "Please be advised that those two audit issues you raised were resolved through both internal and external processes of controls and corporate governance."
Source - newsday
