…. Minister accused of disregarding
advice
TINASHE MAKICHI
Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi is in the eye of a storm after disregarding an earlier report which implicated Zesa Holdings executive chairman Sydney Gata on corruption allegations.
The report, Corporate Performance and Audit Report, and seen by Business Times was submitted to Chasi and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc).
Despite the corruption allegations raised in the report and alleged scandals raised, Chasi is said to have disregarded the advice and went on to appoint Gata.
The firebrand executive in the report is accused of duping the power utility and deceiving them into purchasing Umwinsidale property without a board resolution or approval from the Ministry.
The three houses in Umwinsidale (Gata), Hogerty Hill (Timothy Sain former company secretary) and Greendale (Obert Nyatanga former corporate affairs manager) were purchased in 2004 in a habitable state. Gata according to the documents never stayed at the Umwinsidale house until June 2006 after he had left Zesa.
All along, according to documents Gata was staying in the Borrowdale Brooke House that was boughtthrough a Zesa scheme.
The documents allege that Gata using Sain tried to unprocedurally transfer the ownership of the Umwinsidale property into his own name.
“Sain sought to unlawfully transfer the three properties into the names of Gata, Nyatanga and himself at the original purchase price disregarding the massive renovations and demolitions that were in progress at the houses,” the documents said.
“The transfer of properties was, in any case, irregular as these had not been sanctioned by the Board or the Ministry.
The transfer was intercepted and stopped after cheques issues in favour of the lawyers to effect transfers into the three senior executives had been signed,” read part of the documents seen by this publication.
On being interviewed, Gata professed ignorance that the Zesa Umwinsidale property was being transferred into his name. Gata told Business Times the allegations were baseless meant to tarnish his image.
“Remember I had a contract and there is no Zesa cent on the Borrowdale Brooke house,” Gata said.
To date Chasi and Gata have traded blows following the abrupt suspension of Gata to pave way for an internal investigation on fresh allegations raised against him.
The appointment of Gata came despite strong reservations by proponents of good corporate governance and human resources experts.
Chasi announced a new board of directors for the State power utility and revealed the board will be led by Gata in an executive capacity.
He justified the appointment that Zesa needs a chairman who is “in situ on a day to day basis” and that Gata was the best man suited for the job.
The decision was criticised with questions being asked over the creation of an executive chairman’s role, which many felt it violated tenets of good corporate governance.
Chasi said he never received any audit report to that effect but “what was only made aware to me was some sort of a memo around the house issue”.
Recently, Chasi ordered the Zesa Holdings board to conduct a thorough investigation into Gata, after allegations surfaced that he may have allocated for his personal use of five company vehicles, scuttled the disciplinary hearing of a top executive spent ZWL$10m on Christmas parties, sent four consultants to South Africa and set up a trust to mine gold.
Chasi described the corruption allegations as “indeed egregious and very worrying” and called for a thorough board investigation.
Gata is suing the power utility of US$10m.
In 2018, Gata took ZESA to court demanding an additional US$10m on his severance pay where he argued that his original exit package had been eroded by ZESA’s lack of salary records, hyperinflation, and exchange rate movements.
Gata was first appointed as chief executive of ZESA in 2000, before assuming more power in 2003 as executive chair. He left the power utility in 2006.
