Salarygate audits plan at an advanced stage

Zimbabwe's Comptroller and Auditor General's Office is in the final stages of consultations to commence a series of special audits into the salaries scam that rocked the country at the beginning of the year.

Mildred Chiri, the Comptroller and Auditor General, told The Zimbabwe Mail on Thursday that modalities for the launch of the audits were at an advanced stage. The audits are expected to expose parastatals and state enterprises bosses who paid themselves obscene salaries at the expense of service delivery.

"We should begin pretty soon. It is something we have been discussing and consulting with the State Procurement Board (SPB) on the modalities of the audits," Chiri said.

Asked if government has availed funds for the probes, Chiri said the parastatals under probe might have to cough up the expenses for the audits.

"It is not very clear at the moment, but treasury, as well as the entities that are going to be audited, might have to pay. You will also understand that it is only one aspect of the audit relating to salaries because the other areas are always covered  in our ordinary audits," said Chiri.

This year began with shocking revelations of massive looting and corruption in state entities and parastatals by bosses who for years have reportedly been bleeding government as well as quasi-government institutions through non-taxable incomes and perks.

Epitomised by former Premier Service Medical Aid (Psmas) chief executive officer Cuthbert Dube's $535 000 monthly pay-cheque, the salarygate scandal that left Zimbabweans appalled, also revealed that local authorities across the country, despite failing to provide residents with water, had been paying huge salaries to top executives.

A disgusted President Robert Mugabe then demanded a schedule of all the salaries of state-entities bosses before cabinet presented a policy paper to regulate the salaries.

The major point of the policy was to put a cap on all parastatal bosses' salaries with the top earner supposed to take hone no more than $6 000 monthly in salary and benefits.

However, the move has been met with stiff resistance from municipalities and months since the pronouncement of the directive, no local authority has complied.

In a related development, Chiri said the external auditors contracted to sift the mess at  ZBC are putting final touches to their report.

"They are finalising now and as you are aware, the preliminary report was presented to the ministry of Information who were given time to reflect on it and make representations. That process is done and we are expecting the final report anytime from now although I cannot provide an exact timeframe," Chiri said.

Like all other state enterprises, ZBC was also embroiled in a pay-scam with reports that suspended chief executive officer Happison Muchechetere was taking home about $44 000 a month.

Muchechetere, after his suspension, was hauled before the courts on charges of criminal abuse of office as well as fraud.

He denied the charges and as the trial went on last month, the former ZBC head indicated he wanted the court to dismiss the charges after making an application for exception.

If granted, Muchechetere might literally walk away from the charges a free man

The salarygate scandal also brought political temperatures to a boil after Vice-President Joice Mujuru remarked that the "witch-hunt" that the scam had become was being driven by Zanu PF enemies who had infiltrated the former liberation movement.

The comments received censure from within and outside Zanu PF.