via ZESA advisor joins growing list of parastatal looters | SW Radio Africa by Tererai Karimakwenda on Friday, February 7, 2014
A business consultant hired by a subsidiary of Zimbabwe’s power authority, ZESA, has joined the list of executives reported to be receiving exorbitant salaries at state institutions, with a monthly salary of $44,000.
Dennis Magaya, who is described as a “business strategy consultant”, was hired by ZESA subsidiary Powertel Communications in 2012, under controversial circumstances according to the Financial Gazette. His contract expires in 2015.
The paper said Magaya was engaged to implement a five-year business plan that he had drafted for Powertel, which is a state-owned internet services provider. But his contract was “fast tracked” by ZESA group chief executive officer Josh Chifamba and board chairman Francis Chirimuuta, “in clear defiance” of a State Procurement Board (SPB) resolution.
SPB had reportedly decided Magaya and his company Rubiem Technologies, could not be hired to implement the strategic plan which he had drafted as there would be a conflict of interest.
But the ZESA chefs ignored this and hired Magaya in his individual capacity, insisting Powertel would benefit from and make millions of dollars from the services provided by his company.
In addition, Powertel’s former finance director Warner Mtisi and former managing director Samuel Maminimini, were both sacked by Powertel after they questioned Magaya’s hefty package and resisted efforts to hire him.
Mtisi took legal steps and reportedly won his case at the labour courts, but Chifamba is believed to have appealed against the court ruling.
Political commentator Lameck Mahachi described Magaya’s salary at Powertel as “absurd”, especially given that ZESA itself was failing to provide enough electricity to Zimbabweans and was in debt.
“It appears everyone is on the bandwagon. It’s a culture of looting and everybody wants to loot. This is really absurd. Everyone knows that Zimbabwe is on its knees economically. How can they pay someone that kind of salary?” Mahachi told SW Radio Africa.
He added: “ZESA is failing to provide power to the people. Blackouts are happening all the time and we know ZESA owes huge sums of money. They can’t afford to pay anyone $44,000 monthly. This is unacceptable and calls for making noise. How can we be quiet?”
Mahachi said senior executives running parastatals were backing each other’s salaries and bonuses because they also stand to gain financially from their decisions, regardless of the fact that they may be illegal.
Magaya joins a growing list of executives recently exposed for looting state-run institutions that are in debt. The list includes Cuthbert Dube, the CEO who made $500,000 a month at the Premier Services Medical Aid Society, and suspended ZBC boss Happison Muchechetere, who looted over $40,000 per month while ordinary staff went without wages for the last 7 months.
COMMENTS
No wonder ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-rare sunshine city has so many criminals roaming around in luxury vehicles. What amazes me is that people are only waking up after 34 years fast asleep to the plundering going on right under their nikuv noises
Its not about waking up after 34 years .It has to do with culture. By allowing this looting to go on shows the whole world that our culture is about looting and that we as people accept it wholeheartedly.That is why there is no street protests.
Dennis Magaya, you shameful man! Not even people in the public sector get salaries like that!! We have zesa cuts all the time and zesa cannot even fix the cable where the problem is, or even procure another one from their stocks! Thief!!!!
indyai ngevzamai venyu mambavha
Please tel us the salaries of zesa bosses.they should be interesting seeing that a mere subsidiary can earn so much.while at it pliz look into nac ,zimra ,nassa
I wonder when e opposition will wake from their slumber and take advantage of e public anger to organize mass protests. They only want to do so hasha dzaserera like pafinal push in 2002. When results were announced kuti Mugabe has “won” anger was everywhere bt for some reasons MT and his crew were screened live on zbc TV calling for calm whilst they were looking for political solutions. Pavakazoti final push vanhu vanga vatodhiniwa kare. The same thing happened in 2008 when results were withheld for 5 wks. At first MT called for patience kwakuzomuka patove paya. Iko zvino instead of taking action they’re dead silent abt these “shocking” exposures, infact MT n Biti are calling for GNU 11 yet only yesterday they ruled out another coalition w zpf. VanaMangoma instead of fyting MT shd actually focus that energy n tym in fyting zpf not in air conditioned boardrooms drinking coffee bt be on e front line street battles. What we lack is defiant opposition leadership like MT used to provide during his time at zctu and last seen in 2007 at Zim grounds in Highfield. That defiance jettisoned sadc into action. There is no better to retrace our steps to that action than now when Bob can’t wait to be sadc and AU chairman. Its e best time to expose him. I wish another defiant opposition is formed like yesterday cos indeed e current ones ar too smart to take zpf head on
In our quaint, pristine, delightful (NOT) village of Chegutu we are now in our 4th day of NO ZESA. Dennis Magaya you should hang your head in shame – but you won’t. You will take the slap on your wrist and walk away with a vast amount of money. How much longer do we Zimbabweans have to take this corruption / greed / inefficiency and blatant theft.
Zesa is another parastatal whch is supposed to be makin headlines
Can Mangoma please comment why all these Magaya shenanigans were started during his tenure as minister….leave Save Elton..nyaya dzako dzavakubuda…dzimba dzekuDainfern…we reposses
Can Mangoma please comment why all these Magaya shenanigans were started during his tenure as minister….leave Save Elton..nyaya dzako dzavakubuda…dzimba dzekuDainfern…we will reposses
This Dennis Magaya is a Man with a history of looting. He has been working as a Consultant for Reward Kangai’s NETONE for some time and was being used as a conduit to loot under the disguise of ” Consulting for an MTN buyout which never materialised. Kangai is a habitual thief and he had to “hire” an equally habitual and selfish Engineer as a front. For ZESA he has been a looting alongside Josh. He adds no value at all . Appears very busy but out to strip whether its from a consulting perspective or from a Procurement perspective. I have been with NETONE and now with ZESA and know exactly whats going on. Unfortunately the moment we try to say something we are victimised by the board. Infact Magaya although using his ZIM ID in Zimbabwe, has a fraudulently obtained RSA ID and passport . The idea is to loot Zim enterprises with conivance with the MDs or CEOs and externalize monies out in RSA and beyond. Right now he operates using Zim IDs as he is appropriately a Zimbabwean but his directorship of RubieM registered in RSA he uses his fraudulently acquired RSA papers where he claims to have been born in RSA , has a South African birth certificate, ID and passport etc just as well with zim birth certificates. So whilst in RSA he uses RSA fraudulent papers . In zim he uses his zim papers. He is a selfish Fraudster of note and one wonders with the litany of many qualified Engineers in Zimbabwe why he keeps being seconded around quasi-govt institutions. The reason is that he is a willing conduit to loot these institutions as a front for Josh and Kangai.
Such a culture comes top-down… that’s the only way it is sustainable. Looting was the real purpose of the “independence” war… it was never, ever about freedom for the people. That was only a rouse to disguise the plan to rob the nation. Hang the crooks!
A 60m armored cable connecting was quoted $6500 by Zesa Bindura for a house in Chiweshe. On revision it was quoted $2500. Imagine, ask Mr Shoniwa the commercial dept. manager. Kana tichidaro zvesure tinechido here chekuti ZESA kuvanhu. Or you are betraying the Gvt’s policy.
no wonder why they are pocketing so much. MS Mpofu is responsible for quotations. I wonder if she has any knowledge about electricity supply quotations.
We Zimbabweans at times we do the most weird things on earth. An executive of a medical aid society getting US300k plus as monthly salary. Even Americans themselves would be tempted to emigrate to Zim where there are mega salaries. The iron of it all is that the institutions that are struggling are the the ones paying their CEOs absurd salaries.
Can someone out there please save our country from these crooks. Shame,shame, shame Zimbos