$400k membership cards missing

via $400k membership cards missing | The Herald 6 December 2014 by Lloyd Gumbo

Zanu-PF membership cards worth about US$400 000 cannot be accounted for from provinces, raising fears the money could have been misappropriated.The commissariat department under Cde Webster Shamu disbursed 1 274 320 cards since 2009, but as at September 2014, about 400 000 were yet to be accounted for.

According to a Central Committee report that was approved by Congress on Thursday, Harare has the highest number of missing cards with about 95 000 not accounted for while Mashonaland East comes second with about 74 000 cards missing.

Harare province was issued with 221 160, sold 114 421 and returned 11 794 while Mashonaland East had 296 580 issued, 219 894 sold and returned 2 430.

Manicaland received 132 440 cards, sold 65 837 and returned 5 563 while 61 040 are unaccounted for while Mashonaland West got 104 360, sold 61 030, returned 2 742 and 40 588 missing.

Midlands province received 283 480, sold 247 248 and returned 5 472, but 30 760 are to be accounted for while Masvingo got 63 500, sold 34 446 and returned nothing with an outstanding balance of 29 054.

Matabeleland North province got 35 000 cards, where 15 639 were sold and 415 were returned, leaving an outstanding balance of 18 946.

Bulawayo received 35 000 cards, sold 16 055 and returned 5 833 with 13 112 were unaccounted for while Matabeleland South province got 29 800 cards, where 22 012 were sold, 1 060 were returned and 6728 reported missing.

Mashonaland Central is the only province that exhausted all its 67 000 cards and paid for them.

South Africa received 3 000 cards, but disbursed 119 while 2 881 are yet to be accounted for and the United Kingdom received an equal number but sold all the 3 000 cards.

Ironically, Harare province was a runaway leader in card sales and subscriptions in the last five years while Matabeleland North province performed dismally.

About US$1,6 million was raised from card sales and subscriptions between 2010 and 2014.

The report indicated that Harare province raised over US$464 000 with Midlands coming second with over US$318,500 between 2010 and 2014. Mashonaland East is third having cashed in about US$315 000 while Mashonaland Central is a distant fourth with about  US$112 000.

Fifth is Mashonaland West province who got about US$88 000 while Manicaland could only manage about US$81 000.

Bulawayo province is seventh with about US$59 000 while Matabeleland South closely followed with about US$55 000.

Number nine is Masvingo that raised about US$53 000 and Matabeleland North came last only raising about US$33 000.

South Africa and the United Kingdom raised about US$300 and US$4,500 respectively.

In 2014 alone, about US$383 000 was raised from membership card sales with Harare province leading after the introduction of the new electronic membership card.

The party expects the programme to expand to other provinces hence more revenue is expected.