ZBC whistle-blower petitions Mnangagwa over dismissal 

Source: ZBC whistle-blower petitions Mnangagwa over dismissal – NewsDay Zimbabwe December 29, 2017

Former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) executive turned whistleblower, Constantino Tsatsayi, who provided information on the alleged procurement malpractices at the national broadcaster, has filed a complaint to President Emmerson Mnangagwa after the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) allegedly failed to protect his job.

BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE

In a letter addressed to Mnangagwa’s special adviser, Chris Mutsvangwa and copied to Zacc commissioner Sylvester Nguni, Chief Secretary to President and Cabinet Misheck Sibanda, Tsatsayi claimed that he had been fired as a result his family was now suffering after he provided the anti-graft body with documents to facilitate investigations into the matter.

“After exposing the tender scandal at ZBC, I was fired by the chief executive officer Patrick Mavhura which case I made known to Zacc. It is unfortunate that no protection of any type or assistance was given to me for having taken such a noble and brave stance of exposing corruption,” he said.

“The fact that ZBC was prejudiced by the tender scandal remains intact only that the culprits successfully managed to exploit the lack of congruent,” Tsatsayi wrote.

“I correctly and professionally acted within the provisions of the Procurement Act section 16 and the Public Finance Management Act section 14 which provides entities to report cases where accounting officers commit fraudulent procurement offences.”

He added that he stood firm and resolute against corruption guided by professional ethics.

“It is against this background that Zacc is supposed to protect me against the victimisation that followed my reporting of the offence,” Tsatsayi said

Tsatsayi said he reported the matter of unfair dismissal to the Labour ministry and a ruling was made in his favour on July 5 this year and ZBC was ordered to reinstate him.

“I am now unemployed and my family is suffering for having steadfastly refused, resisted and reported corruption. I am struggling to pay lawyers regardless of having exposed corruption at ZBC. It is my humble appeal dear sir to Zacc to offer me assistance,” he said.

Mavhura and acting head of finance and administration Benania Shumba were acquitted in October this year of charges of contravening the Procurement Act and corruptly using a false document to misrepresent facts.

In dismissing the charges, magistrate Noel Mupeiwa ruled that ZBC was not a procuring entity in terms of the law. Mupeiwa acknowledged that in the face of the evidence given, it was difficult to find fault in the conduct of the pair.

The court also found out that in respect of the charges relating to perceived use of false documents, no proof had been proffered by the State to suggest that it was the accused persons who handed the documents to Croco Motors.