Zesa’s board was yesterday given five days to start
investigating allegations of corruption levelled against its executive
chairman, Dr Sydney Gata, barely a year after his appointment to lead the
turnaround at the utility.
This means the investigations must start this week into
allegations that Dr Gata may have allocated for his personal use five Zesa
vehicles over and above his official Mercedes Benz, scuttled the disciplinary
hearing of a top executive, spent $10 million on Christmas parties, sent four
consultants to South Africa and set up a trust to mine gold.
Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi,
yesterday wrote to the Zesa board of directors ordering them to expedite the
probe.
The letter was copied to Deputy Minister Magna Mudyiwa,
Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda, Secretary for
Energy and Power Development Dr Gloria Magombo and Dr Gata himself.
In the letter, Minister Chasi said the allegations against
Dr Gata were serious, and not only put Zesa Holdings in bad light, but the
entire Government and the ministry in particular.
“You are therefore instructed to give this matter all the
urgency it deserves to ensure that it is resolved within the shortest time
possible to allow the board to concentrate on its key mandate, that is ensuring
availability of power,” said Minister Chasi.
“In all the deliberations and investigations, the board
should ensure that the executive chairperson is accorded all his legal rights.
I expect feedback of the board’s initial action within five days of this
correspondence and every similar period, thereafter.”
Zesa is a private company wholly-owned by Government and is
bound to operate in terms of the laws that govern it, namely the Public Entities
Corporate Governance Act, Companies and Other Business Entities Act, and the
Public Finance Management Act.
Under the Public Entities Act, Government is mandated to
exercise strong interest in the affairs of a public entity including financial
performance, reporting and accountability arrangements. Where deviations are
noted, Government is obliged to take remedial action in terms of the law.
The laws also demand accountability, including the
declaration of interest by officials of the company.
In this regard, Minister Chasi directed the board of
directors to immediately institute investigations into the allegations against
Gata and “take necessary steps in terms of all the relevant laws”.
Among other issues, Minister Chasi said the ministry now required
information on the lawsuits between Dr Gata and Zesa and whether or not they
were declared to the board, as the ministry is not aware of any such
declaration; and the allocation of five extra company vehicles for Dr Gata’s
personal use.
The ministry also requires information on the alleged
interference in a disciplinary hearing involving Mrs Norah Tsomondo, and the
alleged transactions involving Tuli Mining Project and a trust whose
registration and ownership is unknown to the ministry.
The ministry wants to know more about the four consultants
for whom Cabinet authority was sought to travel to South Africa for a study
tour at Eskom, and in their investigations, the board is expected to establish
whether the four are on Zesa payroll and, if not, the basis upon which they
were engaged.
The board will also look into other conduct that it finds
appropriate to investigate.
On January 14, 2020, Dr Gata allegedly wrote to the
disciplinary authority secretary Mr Garikai Churu directing the committee to
withdraw action against Mrs Tsomondo. Herald
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