NRZ bosses smile to the bank, workers suffer

MANAGEMENT at the National Railways of Zimbabwe has not reduced their salaries in line with a Government directive issued in 2014 which pegged salaries for parastatals heads after it was discovered that some of the executives were paying themselves obscene salaries and perks.

In addition, the management led by acting general manager Engineer Lewis Mukwada has also come under the spotlight for allegedly running two separate pay systems with one alleged to be that of tax free allowances. The Government, after an outcry following revelations that chief executives of mainly parastatals were awarding themselves salaries which were not in line with the business they were generating, put a cap on the bosses' salaries.

In one of the pay slips seen by Sunday News, Engineer Mukwada gets a net salary of $5 666,00 for being acting general manager while the finance director Mr Frank Bhule takes home $4 384,26.

Under the directive which was given by Government, CEOs were grouped into six levels with the heads of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Zesa earning a gross of $6 000 with those on level six forming the least paid getting $1 966 including benefits. Of the $6 000 salary cap, 60 percent was supposed to be basic salary and the remaining 40 percent constituting benefits.

The NRZ chief who had been ranked number 34 out of 90 entities was placed under the second level grouping alongside TelOne, PSMAS and the National Social Security Authority which set the maximum monthly salary at $5 700.

Responding to enquiries from Sunday News on Friday evening, Mr Bhule, revealed that the directive on salaries of parastatal heads issued by Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa had not been effected at the transport utility.

"That which was announced by Chinamasa was not implemented," he responded curtly. "I don't think there was any parastatal which implemented it."

On being quizzed further on the matter, Mr Bhule stressed: "We are not following it, the $5 700, I am aware that the general manager is getting slightly higher than that. No parastatal has implemented it."

Mr Bhule said there was nothing absurd about the salaries of the company's executives considering that "we are talking about a big company like the NRZ".

Earlier in an interview by telephone — on allegations NRZ managers had a separate payroll which they were allegedly using to pay themselves while the rest of the workers of the cash strapped entity were wallowing in abject poverty with a salary backlog. Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Dr Jorum Gumbo said he was not aware of the day to day operations but confirmed the "policy position on the matter is as you have clearly enunciated".

Dr Gumbo was referring to the reference made by the reporter to the directive on salary caps for parastatals made by Finance Minister Chinamasa.

Mr Bhule said although the company has been facing financial problems, executives and managers have been getting between 70 and 85 percent of their "predictable salaries" until December last year.

On the issue of two payslips which management allegedly have, Mr Bhule said it was "merely for administrative purposes" not that it was used to pay the executives an extra amount. There were suspicions the separate payroll for the "Manex" — management employees — was allegedly used to pay the executives tax free allowances. But Mr Bhule refuted this: "No one is getting tax free allowances and even the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority can carry out its audit to prove this".

Last year, Government's Internal Audit observed that in 2014 management at some State enterprises were paying themselves allowances not reflected on the payroll to avoid paying tax in contravention of the Income Tax Act. Minister Chinamasa had made a similar observation in March 2014 when he announced the cap on salaries of heads of State enterprises.