ABOUT 10 National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) employees have been hauled before an internal disciplinary committee after a wagon loaded with brake blocks allegedly disappeared in Gweru prejudicing the company of US$50 000.
The disappearance of the load of brake blocks — which are
mainly used in the oil industry services to equip the brake bands of drawworks,
air clutches of different drilling rigs and other equipment —sources said, is
just a tip of the iceberg when it comes to corruption taking place at NRZ.
According to sources in NRZ, the 10 employees from Gweru
include an engine man, shunters and some employees in the accounts department.
Their luck ran out when it was allegedly discovered that a
wagon full of brake blocks was missing after it didn’t reach the intended
destination.
NRZ spokesperson Mr Nyasha Maravanyika confirmed the
development saying NRZ had been prejudiced of US$50 000.
“It is a process that is ongoing and it is difficult for me
to give you the actual number (of implicated employees) as investigations are
still ongoing.
“The NRZ is going through its internal processes of
instituting discipline and attending to workers’ grievances just like any other
organisation and there is really nothing amiss about these processes,” said Mr
Maravanyika.
He said the processes are taking place in all our areas
which are Southern (Bulawayo), Midlands (Gweru) and Eastern (Harare).
“In Gweru there is a case of a wagon loaded with brake
blocks that went missing last year in October (2020). I said it was a wagon
loaded with worn out brake blocks (regarded as scrap material) and new two
holed brake blocks which went missing. The loaded wagon was supposed to go to
Bulawayo Foundry workshop. The value of the brake blocks is US$50 000,” said Mr
Maravanyika.
Operational challenges facing NRZ have crippled viability
of several downstream companies across the country.
Customers, mostly in industry and commerce, are concerned
about the deterioration in the quality of service delivery with some opting to
use road transportation.
The major complaint has been that the NRZ was
short-changing its customers as a result of poor turnaround times for freight
and passenger trains.
Some goods like in this case- the brake block- don’t reach
the intended client costing NRZ thousands of dollars and results in a bad
image. Herald
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