Former Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi appears to have
hit hard times as the senator for Marondera is battling to settle some of his
obligations, the Daily News can report.
According to the Progressive Agriculture and Allied
Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (Paawuz), the veteran politician — aged 74 — is
struggling to pay his workers at his sprawling Ulva Farm in Mashonaland East.
Raymond Sixpence, the secretary-general of Paawuz, said the
union which represents farm workers was forced to approach the Labour Court
where the matter is still pending.
“He (Sekeramayi) owes over $40 000 in unpaid wages and
allowances for his over 60 employees and we have since approached the Labour
Court,” said Sixpence.
The soft-spoken ex-Health minister — who served in various
capacities during former president Robert Mugabe’s 37-year-long reign — was not
responding to text messages sent to his mobile phone nor voice calls.
The Daily News can also report that Sekeramayi, who did not
attend deliberations in the Senate yesterday, is also heavily indebted to power
utility Zesa Holdings(Zesa) which has lately been coming hard on all defaulting
customers.
Sources said the former Defence minister, who was tipped to
succeed Mugabe before the despot’s cathartic fall last November, had since
negotiated a payment plan with Zesa to avoid sequestration.
This was confirmed by Energy and Power Development minister
Joram Gumbo yesterday.
“All individuals, all senior politicians — whether they are
Zanu PF or MDC — have to pay and I can tell you that …Sekeramayi is one of
those senior politicians in the country who came to me after his name had
appeared in the media about his non-payment ... and said ‘things are tough on
me but I have got a payment plan’ and Zesa readily accepted and that is what I
encourage,” Gumbo said.
The Energy minister told the Daily News that he had since
instructed the permanent secretary in the ministry of Energy to compile a list
of all influential people who are in arrears to enable him to put pressure on
them to pay up their dues.
Gumbo said under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s
administration, there won’t be any sacred cows.
“So what I have already done is to ask the permanent
secretary to give me a list of debtors and that includes government ministers,
senior people in government, companies, farmers, schools, mines, etc. I want
them listed, and we will write to them asking them to come up with payment
plans and clear their debts.
“As far as I am concerned, there is no one I have been told
by the president that they must not pay for the power they use at their
institutions, be it at their private homes, farms, schools, even government
hospitals. None is exempted from paying and that includes me,” he said.
In 2012, the Daily News uncovered what became known as the
Zesagate.
At a time the power utility was on a nationwide power
disconnection campaign against defaulting consumers, it was revealed that Zesa
was conveniently allowing bigwigs, who were stratified under the so-called
“sensitive customers”, off the hook.
The defaulters included legislators from across the
political divide, judges, provincial governors, ministers and their deputies
and permanent secretaries.
Among the highest debtors was Mugabe and his wife Grace,
who owed over $345 000 as at December 31, 2011.
At the time, Mnangagwa, who was also listed under the
so-called “sensitive customers profile”, owed Zesa $240 824,03. Daily News
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