MMCZ paid $25 000 to non-existent board

By Bridget Mananavire

The Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) paid over $25 000 in fees to a non-existent board, the Auditor-General Mildred Chiri has said.

Chiri reported this as a malpractice in her audit report on State enterprises and parastatals for the financial year ended 2016.

“The corporation paid expenses amounting to $25 228 during the period December 2013 to December 2015, but there was no board,” Chiri noted.

“The board and sitting allowances may be paid for services not rendered. In the absence of declaration of interests, objectivity may be compromised when decisions are made on issues that management and board members have an interest in are made.

“The corporation should maintain attendance registers for board of directors which should be signed as evidence of attendance top board meetings.

“The corporation should ensure that board members declare interests, if any before discussions of matter which they may have conflict and should be evidenced by way of document declarations.”

She said MMCZ — which oversees that the mining industry and the trade of minerals are carried out in a fair and ethical manner — did not have a fully-constituted board since 2013.

In response, the MMCZ management said it would ensure attendance register is signed at all board meetings

“However, board fees and sitting allowances were paid based on meetings actually held and dates of the meetings were shown on the payment schedule availed for audit,” it said.                                                                                                                                    

Chiri also discovered that MMCZ paid allowances to senior management amounting to $339 999, which was not captured in the contracts availed to her.

“The senior management contracts of employment stated that the employees would be paid two tickets for holiday in a regional destination of an amount equivalent. The contract of employment did not include any additional allowances apart from the ticket.

“I was not availed with an approved justification or basis of the holiday allowance that was paid and there were no corresponding quotations filed supporting the amount that was paid,” she said.

In response, management said “the holiday allowances were paid in terms of the contracts of employment and management will ensure adherence to the same.” Daily News