Mugabe reacts to salaries scandal

By Staff Reporter

President Robert Mugabe has given his reaction to the damaging “SalaryGate Scandal” that saw executives running State-owned enterprises and local authorities including his own spokesman George Charamba, pocket obscene salaries, allowances and board member fees. 

According to Information Minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo, Mugabe used Tuesday’s cabinet meeting to express his disgust at the scandal and ordered Cabinet ministers to take full responsibility of parastatals and State enterprises that fall under their portfolios and ensure that the culprits are brought to book.

Moyo said the president was “dismayed by the undeniable rot which is allegedly rampant among the 78 parastatals and State enterprises and the 92 local authorities in the country, and whose extent includes corruption of the tender and procurement processes as well as price distortions to the detriment of ordinary consumers.”

Moyo said some parastatals and local authorities are yet to comply with a cabinet directive (issued November 2013) to submit salary schedules to the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).

“Since then, the OPC has received schedules of salaries and allowances along with feedback from some but not all of the affected organisations. Among other things, the preliminary outcome of these submissions is as follows: Several organisations in question actually do not have boards in place,” Moyo said.

“Some of the boards in place are not meeting as required by the law. Most of the boards do not have the skills necessary to discharge their mandate and this has created opportunities for one or a few individuals to control the boards.

“Boards tend to deliberately raise salaries of their management knowing that the level of board allowances is tied to the salaries of management. Many board members are not sufficiently equipped for their duties because they do not have systematic criteria for board selection or training.

Most boards do not have remuneration committees to help determine the salaries and allowances of their organisations. Virtually all boards in question are not evaluated in terms of their performance. In most cases there is no ministerial supervision of boards,” Moyo said.

President Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba raked in over $100 000 last year from the scandal-ridden Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) despite claiming he was the least paid person on the board.

Charamba was a mega-earner, getting US$10 357,50 in January 2013, US$10 207,50 in February, US$8 107,50 in March, US$8 770 in April, US$8 895 in May, US$8 270 in June, US$8 895 in July, US$8 270 in August and September, US$12 190 in October, US$8 270 in November and US$8 895 in December.

Charamba who doubles up as presidential spokesman and Permanent Secretary in the Information Ministry was a key board member, including serving on the finance and budget committee that approved PSMAS CEO Cuthbert Dube’s obscene US$500 000 in monthly salaries, benefits and allowances.

PSMAS board members received the following amounts 

– Meisie Namasasu —        $174 062.00

– Newton Mhlanga —         $130 787.50

– Chigwamba Constance — $66 050.00

– Sunguro Pretty —        $71 153.50

– Moses Mtombeni —         $71 900.00

– George M Chaburuka —  $234 546.50

– George Charamba —        $109 397.50

– Luxon Zembe —              $82 525.00