Boardroom war rocks GMB

A VICIOUS boardroom war has erupted at the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) where top managers have either been fired or suspended and stripped of their luxury benefits.

Following a messy fall-out between the management and board, the senior officials lost top-of-the-range vehicles, iPads, laptops and mobile phones. The development has seen the Lands and Agriculture ministry - which is the parent ministry to the parastatal - and the Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare ministry taking a keen interest in the unfolding turmoil.

GMB board chair Joylyn Ndoro confirmed that some managers were sent packing while others voluntarily resigned.

"Some of the managers who are in trouble were caught on the wrong side of the law by an internal audit, hence GMB was supposed to take action. We also have other managers whose fixed contracts expired while others just resigned," she said.

Ndoro said the restructuring at GMB was in line with a transformation agenda to strengthen the parastatal's corporate image. Some of the managers who severed ties with the parastatal are former company secretary Rodney Muzechi, deputy general manager operations Lawrence Jasi, senior manager Simba Monde, manager Andrew Mucheuki, business development manager Pinias Mutasa, human resources manager Aquinata Makuvise and finance manager Constance Dzenga.

Mutasa and Makuvise were frustrated out of GMB and joined Silo Food Industries.

Details obtained by the Zimbabwe Independent show that GMB is likely to face serious litigation at the Labour Court as sacked employees demand justice.

In a circular number 20/2020 written on September 18, 2020, GMB chief executive Rocky Mutenha terminated Dzenga's appointment as finance manager.

"The GMB board of directors would like to notify GMB management and staff that the finance manager Mrs C Dzenga is no longer serving as a GMB employee with immediate effect. The board and management would like to thank her for services rendered throughout the period she was with GMB and wish her well in her future endeavours."

Another senior manager who is fighting the board and management is the parastatal's corporate communications manager Muriel Zemura who was dragged before a disciplinary hearing on October 9, and November 4, 2020, for alleged incompetence and "inferior performance of your duty as evidenced by the absence of updated content on the website for the period June 2020 to 1 September 2020".

Zemura was also accused by Mutenha of sourcing substandard desk and wall calendars which failed to project "the intended image of the GMB".

GMB, on November 13, 2020, then issued a final warning against Zemura, but on December 7, 2020, the human resources department demoted Zemura to a depot assistant.

"In line with that determination, you are hereby advised to report for duty at Sadza Deport by Friday 11 December, 2020," wrote GMB.

"Please note that this demotion will result in the change of your previous conditions of service to those commensurate with the depot assistant-in-charge position. In light of these changes, you are required to immediately surrender all GMB assets that you were using as corporate communications manager to the acting enterprise risk manager. For the avoidance of doubt, the said assets include; motor vehicle registration number ADA 1523, laptop and iPad."

Approached for comment, Zemura declined to discuss the matter.