MDC seeks parastatals inquiry

via MDC seeks parastatals inquiry – DailyNews Live by Chengetai Zvauya  3 JANUARY 2014 

Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC has called for a Parliamentary probe into all parastatals following  shocking disclosures of hefty executive allowances at ZBC.

Zimbabwe has 78 State-controlled public enterprises and nearly all are operating at a loss and are teetering on the verge of collapse.

Douglas Mwonzora, the MDC spokesperson, said his party wants an audit of all parastatals to ascertain how much each chief executive was earning.

This comes in the wake of revelations that suspended ZBC boss Happison Muchechetere was rewarding himself heftily at a time workers had gone for seven months without salaries.

“The decay at ZBC is a manifestation of the rot in most parastatals,” Mwonzora said.

“It is the MDC’s position that a Parliamentary inquiry should be established forthwith to investigate all State enterprises to stop the rot and ascertain how best they can be turned around; and put less burden on the already suffering taxpayer.

“It is very worrying that senior managers at most State enterprises are getting hefty salaries and allowances while failing to turn around these parastatals into viable enterprises.

The same managers are hiding behind the lame and tired excuse of targeted restrictive measures yet it is apparent that corruption is at the centre of their decay.”

The MDC said it wants the State enterprises fully restructured, reorganised and become functional with an accountable management.

Mwonzora said the obscene perks that Mucheterere was earning at ZBC had been approved by the ZBC board.

Muchechetere has declined to comment, saying he will speak when the ZBC inquiry was over.

Misheck Sibanda, the chief secretary to the President and Cabinet, issued a directive last month to all ministers to direct heads of public entities to provide schedules of their salaries and benefits.