Chiefs told to return share scheme funds

by Staff reporter

2012 August 13 08:54:47 | 1791 Views

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LOCAL Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Dr Ignatius Chombo has directed chiefs in Zvishavane to return into the community share ownership trust account part of the $2 million they have shared among themselves.

Dr Chombo on Friday addressed the traditional leaders at Chief Masunda's homestead amid revelations that the chiefs had shared among themselves various significant amounts of money which Mimosa Mining Company deposited into the Zvishavane Community Share Ownership Trust bank account recently.

Five chiefs whose areas fall under the scheme had also awarded themselves $5000 as sitting allowances.

The chiefs, who are part of the trustee committee that deliberates on community projects which must be funded, had reportedly allocated each other lump sums from the trustee fund so they could administer and disburse the money for various projects in their respective areas.

Chiefs Mazvihwa, Masunda, Mapanzure, Wedza and Mafala had reportedly given each other between US$200 000 and $250 000 depending on the number of people each chief leads. The traditional leaders who form part of the trustee committee which is chaired by Chief Mazvihwa are said to also have awarded themselves US$5 000 each from the trust fund as sitting allowances.

Minister Chombo, however, ordered them to stop handling the huge sums of money or risk prosecution.

â€œI have called this meeting to advise you as our treasured traditional leaders that you should return the money which each of you was allocated to administer the funding of projects in your area back into the trust account.

Whoever came up with this idea had a very cunning motive which is aimed at making the chiefs responsible for the handling and disbursing of the money so you could be audited.

â€œIf anything happens and some money becomes unaccounted for while it has been disbursed by the chiefs, it means that you as chiefs are held accountable. This means you could be prosecuted and we donâ€™t want a situation where our traditional leaders will be sent to jail,â€ he said.

Minister Chombo said the chiefs must let the Zvishavane district administrator and Runde Rural District Council conduct the disbursements of the funds.

â€œAs chiefs, what you only have to do is to suggest projects you want to be completed in your area and let the technocrats do the disbursing of the money.

This will spare you as our traditional leaders from being audited,â€ he said.

Minister Chombo said the chiefs had also made a mistake by awarding themselves $5 000 as sitting allowances.

â€œWhile the issue of sitting allowances is provided for in the deeds of the trust, it was not wise for you to allocate yourselves the $5 000 sitting allowance at once when it is supposed to be given annually,â€ he said.

Minister Chombo said some of the traditional leaders who were given the lump sum $5 000 as sitting allowance were not substantive chiefs.

â€œThis will then create a problem if the acting chief is not the one to be installed when a substantive chief is appointed. The one who will come in will demand his or her allowances yet you have already given each other the money for the whole year,â€ he said.

Meanwhile, Minister Chombo said Runde district council should buy a community truck using the community share ownership funds to assist villagers to ferry their maize provided under the grain loan scheme from the Grain Marketing Board to their respective areas.

He said the community share funds should also be used to buy machinery such as a borehole drilling machine so that the water supply problem in Zvishavane district could be addressed.

â€œWe have heard that people are facing serious water challenges in Zvishavane and that most of them who want to benefit from the Governmentâ€™s grain loan scheme are facing serious transport challenges. This however should not be a problem anymore when the community now has money in the form of community share trust/scheme fund. This money should be used to buy a community truck and equipment like a borehole drilling machine which will service the whole of Zvishavane,â€ he said.

Source: Chronicle