By Phyllis Kachere
Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation chief executive officer Mr Dominic Mubayiwa and four senior officials have been suspended without pay and benefits with effect from Tuesday on 16 counts of corruption running into millions of US dollars.
They will appear before a disciplinary hearing on October 26 with retired Justice Simbi Mubako presiding.
Confirming the suspension, ZMDC chairperson Mr Godwills Masimirembwa said Mr Tapiwa Goronga has been appointed acting chief executive officer.
Mr Goronga takes over from finance manager Ms Christine Mutongi.
Ironically, Ms Mutongi had been appointed acting chief executive officer when Mr Mubayiwa was sent on forced leave a few weeks ago.
However, Ms Mutongi was subsequently suspended after being implicated in the corruption, along with chief finance officer Mr Robert Karemba, chief operations officer Mr Albert Chitambo, and company secretary Mr Tichaona Muhonde.
According to documents seen by The Herald, Mr Mubayiwa and the four co-accused connived to defraud ZMDC of US$10 million through misrepresentation of a loan.
Mubayiwa’s charge sheet reads: “During the period extending January 2007 to December 2009, acting personally and/or in concert with Robert Karemba, Christine Mutongi, Albert Chitambo and Tichaona Muhonde connived to misrepresent that ZMDC’s gold mining companies Sabi Gold, Jena, and Elvington had loaned another subsidiary Marange Resources US$12 million for capitalisation when you knew the correct amount was US$1 928 648,38.”
He is accused of conflict of interest by failing to declare his directorship of several companies that conducted business in excess of US$500 000 with ZMDC from November 2008 to date.
The companies include Chantrea Trading Zimba-bwe (Pvt) Ltd, Meridian Investments (Pty) Ltd, Delta Composites (Pty) Ltd, Chalba Freight Services (Pty) Ltd and Cross Global — “all companies in which your co-director in Chantrea Trading Zimbabwe, Ping-Sung Heih, is a director”.
He is accused of corruptly receiving favours and failing to disclose to ZMDC that Amari Holdings (Pty) Ltd — a company that the parastatal was negotiating a possible joint venture with — corruptly purchased 200 square metres of tiles for his private residence at Number 13 Hillview Road in Philadel-phia, Harare.
“This happened on or about 28 May 2008 and thereafter you signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the said Amari Holdings in res-pect of a platinum mining project,” read some of the charges.
Mr Mubayiwa stands accused of acts of theft stemming from an order he gave between January and July this year that two ZMDC vehicles (registration numbers ABD 8343 and ABD 8341) be transferred to his private residence without permission.
ZMDC has also charged Mubayiwa for allegedly inflating an invoice worth R607 793 paid to Chalba Freight Services — a company he had an interest in — by R86 827.
This allegedly occurred between May and June 2008.
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