ZSE's Chirume in trouble over 'unethical conduct'

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange says investigations into the conduct of its chief executive Alban Chirume will not be restricted to the Econet Wireless Zimbabwe debacle but will spread into other unprocedural and unethical conduct allegedly committed by him over a period of time.

This comes after the ZSE board sent Mr Chirume on forced leave pending investigations mainly emanating from the debacle into Econet's $130 rights issue which exposed the disconnect between the exchange's board and its management. The disconnect saw Econet glide over a regulatory directive. However, cases against Mr Chirume have been building up and The Herald Business has been at the forefront in exposing some of them. Chairman Caroline Sandura said ZSE would not prolong the investigations and will assess the concerns raised accordingly.

"The investigations into the conduct of the chief executive will not be prolonged. We just want to look into possible areas of misconduct."

Well placed sources say the issue of Econet was just a trigger as Mr Chirume already had pending cases which the board was looking into. As previously reported by this publication, Mr Chirume was at fault when Meikles was un-procedurally suspended from the ZSE.

There are also allegations on how he terminated the website contract with local company Big Law and other various occasions where he is said to have overrode the regulator and the board.

The ZSE board had raised concern over certain technical issues which it wanted Econet to address. But the telecommunications company proceeded with the EGM, arguing the initial approval made the Committee of the ZSE, a competent authority had not been withdrawn.

Reports say the initial approvals were allegedly done by Mr Chirume who disregarded concerns raised by the Listing Committee which is chaired by Mr Bart Mswaka.

Mr Chirume said the ZSE's role was not to approve transactions but to ensure that the company provides all the required disclosures per the ZSE's Listings Requirements to enable shareholders to make informed decisions on transactions presented to them.

He said the approval of the circular by the ZSE was not an opinion on the transaction as the issues raised were the Exchange Control matters, which were beyond the purview of the ZSE.

"You will rightfully note that the transaction should be approved by the shareholders first before an Exchange Control approval is granted. In addition, the ZSE resolved that Econet applies for an Exchange Control blanket approval which has been disclosed in the circular.

"We believe that any further questions should be directed to the company proposing the transaction," said Mr Chirume.

Stockbrokers who spoke to The Herald Business yesterday welcomed the move to investigate the CEO.

"It is something that we expected (action against the CEO). I do not want to rush to make a conclusion but I think the board's decision should have been respected. This is not good for our market and we don't want such a thing to happen," said one stockbroker who requested not to be named.

Another stockbroker said the board should take its time to clear the mess and take action against any party found guilty.

"By taking the decision, they must have strong suspicion that there are problems and we need that to be investigated thoroughly," said the broker.