Prof Jonathan Moyo orders forensic audit at ZBC

THE Comptroller and Auditor-General has been asked to undertake an urgent, comprehensive and forensic audit of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation in the wake of the dissolution of the board and sending of Chief Executive Officer Happison Muchechetere on paid leave.

In a statement yesterday, Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Dr Ivanhoe Gurira said in order to facilitate the audit, ZBC general manager for finance, Retired Brigadier-General Elliot Kasu had been placed on leave with full pay until further notice.

"Further to the ministry's decision yesterday (Thursday) to dissolve the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation board and place the corporation's chief executive officer on leave, the ministry has requested the Comptroller and Auditor-General to undertake an urgent comprehensive and forensic audit of ZBC," he said.

Dr Gurira said the terms of reference of the audit include but were not limited to, determining the true financial position of the corporation in historical perspective, forensic audit of all financial transactions by the corporation to determine prejudice or benefit to ZBC, staff complement and remuneration, equipment and assets.

On Thursday, the ZBC board, led by Mr Cuthbert Dube, was dissolved in toto and  Mr Muchechetere was sent on leave to pave way for an audit. Mr Allan Chiweshe, who was the general manager radio services, took over as acting chief executive.

Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo said the dissolution of the board was made in the wake of the board's failure to submit a turnaround strategy document within the 14 days it had requested.

Prof Moyo said it was common cause that ZBC had for some time been facing critical leadership and managerial challenges that had not only compromised its capacity to effectively and meaningfully discharge its mandate, a situation that resulted in the failure by the parastatal to pay its workers for several months.

"Against this background the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services has over the last few weeks been engaging the ZBC board and management to find an urgent and lasting solution to the very public challenges facing the national broadcaster. In particular, the ministry engaged the ZBC board and management for most of the day on Monday 28 October 2013 to review a turnaround strategy which the corporation had submitted to Government," said Prof Moyo.

He said it had transpired during the meeting that the turnaround strategy about which the ministry had grave reservations upon, had not been considered and endorsed by the full board prior to its submission to the Government.