via Mugabe reacts to salaries scandal | Nehanda Radio Feb 09, 2014
President Robert Mugabe has given his reaction to the damaging “SalaryGate Scandal” that saw executives running State-owned enterprises and local authorities including his own spokesman George Charamba, pocket obscene salaries, allowances and board member fees.
According to Information Minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo, Mugabe used Tuesday’s cabinet meeting to express his disgust at the scandal and ordered Cabinet ministers to take full responsibility of parastatals and State enterprises that fall under their portfolios and ensure that the culprits are brought to book.
Moyo said the president was “dismayed by the undeniable rot which is allegedly rampant among the 78 parastatals and State enterprises and the 92 local authorities in the country, and whose extent includes corruption of the tender and procurement processes as well as price distortions to the detriment of ordinary consumers.”
Moyo said some parastatals and local authorities are yet to comply with a cabinet directive (issued November 2013) to submit salary schedules to the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).
“Since then, the OPC has received schedules of salaries and allowances along with feedback from some but not all of the affected organisations. Among other things, the preliminary outcome of these submissions is as follows: Several organisations in question actually do not have boards in place,” Moyo said.
“Some of the boards in place are not meeting as required by the law. Most of the boards do not have the skills necessary to discharge their mandate and this has created opportunities for one or a few individuals to control the boards.
“Boards tend to deliberately raise salaries of their management knowing that the level of board allowances is tied to the salaries of management. Many board members are not sufficiently equipped for their duties because they do not have systematic criteria for board selection or training.
Most boards do not have remuneration committees to help determine the salaries and allowances of their organisations. Virtually all boards in question are not evaluated in terms of their performance. In most cases there is no ministerial supervision of boards,” Moyo said.
President Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba raked in over $100 000 last year from the scandal-ridden Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) despite claiming he was the least paid person on the board.
Charamba was a mega-earner, getting US$10 357,50 in January 2013, US$10 207,50 in February, US$8 107,50 in March, US$8 770 in April, US$8 895 in May, US$8 270 in June, US$8 895 in July, US$8 270 in August and September, US$12 190 in October, US$8 270 in November and US$8 895 in December.
Charamba who doubles up as presidential spokesman and Permanent Secretary in the Information Ministry was a key board member, including serving on the finance and budget committee that approved PSMAS CEO Cuthbert Dube’s obscene US$500 000 in monthly salaries, benefits and allowances.
PSMAS board members received the following amounts
– Meisie Namasasu — $174 062.00
– Newton Mhlanga — $130 787.50
– Chigwamba Constance — $66 050.00
– Sunguro Pretty — $71 153.50
– Moses Mtombeni — $71 900.00
– George M Chaburuka — $234 546.50
– George Charamba — $109 397.50
– Luxon Zembe — $82 525.00
COMMENTS
Izvi zvakawoma izvi. This is hard to comprehend.
The proper response to Salarygate and other corruption misadventures is exposure and taking strong action against perpetrators, according to the Minister of Information, Prof. Jonathan Moyo(the thousand lives dude). Unsurprisingly, at a Cabinet meeting, President Mugabe, gave a most tepid reaction by simply expressing his disgust at the scandal and ordering the Cabinet Ministers to take full responsibility of parastatals and state enterprises that fall under their portfolios and ensure that the culprits are brought to book. Translation? Do nothing. The safest guess is that if any heads are going to roll, Moyo’s could be one of the first. IN ZIMBABWE, AS IN AFRICA, CORRUPTION DIES HARD!
I don’t see a reaction there. Retrospective Action is surely about the president taking action and rolling some heads here… Not just a sleazy remark. We need strong leadership. This Mugabe is just like these other corrupt officials. How long has it been since the news came out? Where has he been? Probably sleeping as a ninety year old would typically do. With Bob and his old guard at the head… This country is destined for catastrophic failure.
There was no reaction from Mugabe. He has no power to react to anything anymore. This is Moyo singing for his supper again. By the way,both Moyo and Bob have no constituency , the owe their posts to the Junta and likuv.
None of this is news for Mugabe. This corruption is one of the things he holds over his people and is his preferred method of control. Be sure all of these beneficiaries are ZANU
‘Greedy Zanupf creatures!
The only way mugabe has managed to survive this long on his post was through cronyism. These salary sandals are not news to him. He is the master & he was very much aware of everything. That is how he paid them for their cronyism. The problem now is that mugabe is no longer head of state and government. Certain individuals are now running the country. His is to attend meetings on behalf of them but authority he has none.
Bob and wailing moyo must be crazy to expect people like chombo to take full responsibility of his ministry
What goes round comes round. Some of us feel great that at last names are being revealed of the incredible web of greed, corruption and impunity. What will Mariyawanda say now and other CCCommissioners about their Heads of Ministries being implicated? We are waiting for hell to break loose soon. Expect more of the thievery from these so called patriotic fools good for nothing imbeciles.God help us all!
Now it’s very clear that all along he has never possessed any power the junta does,dont’s expect anything
Cabinet Ministers get a kick back too!!!
These workers from ZBC are also corrupt. Why persecute us the public, collecting moneys from door to door only to surrender all this money to these individuals. If you workers refused to do this job for these people they would not have the luxury to steal. We should forget that the President will take action against George Charamba. That will be his demise. Its time we accept that we are our own liberators from the looters who hide behind the Za
We should accept that we are own liberators from the looters who are hiding behind the slogan of the ruling party and their false loyalty to Mugabe. It is greed that they are loyal to.
This is hearsay and probably Jonathan Moyo simply saying what Mugabe ought to say. If the President wants to say something about it he should call a press conference so we can hear it from the horse’s mouth. How can we be expected to believe that he condemned something he allowed to happen? There is no way he can claim he didnt know. If he genuinely didnt then he should not be president.
Its time Zimbos reorgarnise and kick this adminstration out if these thieves fail to resign.we need action nw
How can Moyo say board members don’t have the skills yet they are appointed by Mugabe on the advice of their respective ministers on party lines. It actually depends on how loud can you make a slogan. So the issue of skills rest on Mugabe and his so-called ministers
Cde Chombo directed local authorities to push salaries up so they would fail on service delivery and blame you know who: MDC. This has been going on for quite a while and its a pity the can of worms is only spilling now when the rot has taken seat.
I’ve always been surprised by the level of affluence in Harare and other cities and this could be the explanation. How else can they fail to live large when it takes them a couple of weeks to earn what most of us in the western world need a whole year of hard work to earn. I struggle to spent a week in Harare from just the costs.
It is a pity that our leaders have enslaved themselves with riches and cut themselves from the masses.I have no respect for any of our politicians now and they should all be prosecuted for economic sabotage because they have showed no respect for their country.When you make your trips overseas claiming to represent Zimbabwe,people from other countries laugh at you with shame.
I suggest all they looted should be taken back as a remedy so that the public can benefit from their hard work. if i am paid $200 and i find my self buying a $40 000 house then the authorities should be concerned. even the banks should raise an alarm if an account happen to have abnormal deposits or transactions.
moreover all we need to do as Zimbabweans is to be in steadfast in prayer i tell you their downfall will surely come. Amen
It is nice to be a Mashona!
What a presidential joke!
I feel sorry for the president cause he can’t do anything. He can’t reprimand his lieutenants for stealing when he is the chief robber.
So Here is a thought if i remember correctly per month the No 1 citizen the president US$1500.00. during the GNU. Are you telling me that the Lackyes and boot lickers were taking more than him, Hah I don’t think so. If a small boy like Cashbert is taking 1/2million a month what of the generals, what of Dis-Grace bet she still get a secretaries wage (inflated for services rendered, Young Robert, Bona and the rest of the Mugabe Clan what do they get a month in salaries.
cash crisis i know why we have one 99% of the money going to 1% of the country and we are lucky to have the 1% it will be taken anyday now just wait and see
Question is who appoints and approves those clueless parastatal board members? Further, who also appoint those same people responsible for appointing clueless boards; do they also have any clue of what their portifolios expect of them? The issue starts with appointment of greed, corrupt and clueless ministers; who are appointed by a clueless, corrupt, greed, partisan, and tribalistic president. Of course the chain goes on and on with same ministers using same criteria to appoint their people into boards & executive positions of our state institutions.
So the rot starts from the top. It is therefore foolish to listen to anyone’s pronouncements on the salarygate issue and/or any other misdemeanor regarding state institutions. Truth, is it all starts & stops with the old cabbage at the top. A few under dogs in Zanu pf might want to see, some of their factional opponents in the same corrupt party punished (strictly for factional reasons not for moral reasons)but the architect of all these envil amongst who happens to be the zanu pf god will obviously have none of it. its a matter of time before those who are seriously advocating for punishment of the looters are silenced by the zanu pf god himself. And it is coming sooner than later – that is if all they haven’t been told to zip up already. For all we know, this brainless Teu is usually a side kick of the demi god. You may call it a gaffe but often its one sanctioned from above.