The Sunday Mail
Sharon Munjenjema
Parliament has directed Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) Enterprises to furnish it with intricate documentary details on how the parastatal channelled over $1 million to non-core activities.
The order from a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts comes amid suspicion of gross abuse of the money under the guise of corporate social responsibility.
Legislators expressed concern over the use of the money to fund partisan political activities at a time Zesa employees are owed salaries and various electricity projects have stalled over lack of funding. The probe by the legislators was incited by revelations in the Auditor-General’s latest report showing that over US$900 000 was donated to ‘undeserving companies’.
According to the report, “Zesa exceeded its corporate social responsibility budget of a maximum of $300 000 by US$934 241, making undisclosed donations to companies that did not meet criteria according to the company’s policy.”
Appearing before the Parliament Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts last week, Zesa Holdings chief executive officer Engineer Josh Chifamba was at pains to explain the use of funds under the company’s corporate social responsibility programme.
“We donate to entities that fit within our policy. On a more practical level, we are there to support charitable organisations,” he said.
“I think on that one (donation to Zanu PF), we had approval of the board. There is not a single corporate social responsibility program that we do without approval of the board,” he said.
According to the Auditor General’s report, the donations may not have been sanctioned by the Zesa board or former Minister of Energy and Power Development Dr Samuel Undenge, since no evidence of approval was provided.
But Eng Chifamba said he had received verbal approval from the board and former minister Dr Undenge to sanction the ‘donations’.
Chairperson of the committee, Honourable Paurina Mpariwa directed the parastatal bosses to re-appear before the committee to submit a breakdown of the donations, beneficiaries and the amounts extended.
The directive was upon realisation that the parastatal had on several occasions funded Zanu PF programmes under former leader Cde Robert Mugabe, disguised as corporate responsibility.
While the entity spent over $1 million on activities outside its core business, it is currently at loggerheads with the National Energy Workers Union of Zimbabwe over salary arrears.
Last week, High Court Justice Clement Phiri barred the workers from staging demonstrations to force the company to pay the outstanding salary arrears that date back to 2012.
