Herald Reporter MUNESU Munodawafa — a former principal director in Vice President Joice Mujuru’s office and now permanent secretary in the ...
Herald Reporter
MUNESU Munodawafa — a former principal director in Vice President Joice Mujuru’s office and now permanent secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development — should be suspended to allow corruption allegations against him involving $305 000 to be investigated “to a logical conclusion,” Air Zimbabwe auditors have advised the Government.
The auditors have written to the minister Obert Mpofu and the Air Zimbabwe board reminding them that a year after their findings, nothing had been done “despite the severity of the issues raised and the quantum of potential financial prejudice to the Government”.
Half-a-dozen former Air Zimbabwe executives have been arrested and charged with corruption after a forensic audit report by BCA Forensic Audit Services linked them to a US$11 million aviation insurance scam.
At the heart of the fraud was Munodawafa’s niece, Grace Pfumbidzayi, Air Zimbabwe’s manager (legal) and company secretary, who authorised million-dollar “fraudulent” payments to Navistar Insurance Brokers, according to the audit.
For a period of two months in early 2009, Air Zimbabwe’s planes took to the skies without any insurance after ZimRe Reinsurance Company (now Baobab), received but failed to remit premiums.
The airline also paid inflated premiums to Navistar, a company which the audit found had a generally corrupt relationship with some Air Zimbabwe executives, particularly Pfumbidzayi.
Navistar was appointed when Peter Chikumba was CEO. He told the auditors that he had never approved the deal — which is not supported by any standard legal contract — and BCA concluded that Pfumbidzayi entered into the arrangement by herself.
Working with other senior managers, Pfumbidzayi actively pushed through the payments to Navistar. Once, when there was a delay of a US$305 000 payment to Navistar, Munodawafa, wrote to Air Zimbabwe asking them to expedite the payment. The auditors concluded Munodawafa was “conflicted”.
“During the course of the investigation, we held a meeting with Munodawafa in which meeting he expressed his view that the payments of 300 000 euros per quarter by Air Zimbabwe to Navistar are not fraudulent,” the auditors said in the findings which were shared with Mpofu and the Air Zimbabwe board in December last year.
They added: “All other executives of Air Zimbabwe, including the former group chief executive officer Peter Chikumba, with the exception of Grace Pfumbidzayi, accepted that the payments of 300 000 euros per quarter were baseless and fraudulent.”
But exactly a year on, the auditors say their recommendations have largely been ignored.
A day after they presented their audit findings, the Air Zimbabwe board led by Ozias Bvute – which commissioned the investigation – was booted out of office by Minister Mpofu without explanation. An interim board led by Valentine Sinemani was appointed, but soon replaced by the Abdulman Erick Harid board.
In a November 6, 2014, letter seen by The Herald and addressed to Harid, BCA chief forensic investigator Budhama Chikamhi expressed his disappointment that his key recommendation that individuals connected to the fraud be “specified” under the Prevention of Corruption Act had been ignored.
An investigation in terms of the Act gives the auditor wider powers than an ordinary investigation, and allows authorities to freeze assets of individuals. Only this way, the auditor says, can they follow the money and establish who were the other beneficiaries of the corrupt payments.
In his letter, Chikamhi says following his submission of the audit report, a “high level review” had established that Munodawafa “was advised by a technocrat in the insurance industry, whom he personally consulted for advice”, that there was “no basis… for payment of the US$305 000”, yet he “proceeded to write a letter to Air Zimbabwe asking the airline to pay Navistar.”
“The permanent secretary Munesu Munodawafa should answer a number of questions involving this transaction which according to available evidence appears fraudulent,” Chikamhi says.
He adds that if the current board “wants the truth to be unravelled and have the culprits brought to book, which culprits would most likely include the Permanent Secretary Mr Munodawafa as he played a pivotal role in this transaction… it is our view that for this matter to be investigated without interference, Mr Munodawafa should be suspended as the investigation will entail interacting with heads of parastatals under the ministry, which exercise we tried to do when we were investigating the scam involving the aviation insurance with no success as we could not get the necessary cooperation.”
The auditor also told of his disappointment that former Air Zimbabwe staffer Godknows Maravanyika, now the general manager of National Handling Services (NHS), had not been put before a disciplinary committee. Instead, he had won a promotion after being transferred from Air Zimbabwe to NHS, which also falls under the Transport Ministry.
“Mr Godknows Maravanyika authorised the payment of inflated invoices from Navistar resulting in financial prejudice,” Chikamhi says in his letter.
He added that while presenting their report to Minister Mpofu, the auditors “highlighted the fact that while disciplinary hearings had been instituted for all the employees of Air Zimbabwe implicated in the report, no action had been taken against Maravanyika as he was now working for the National Handling Service”.
He concludes: “In the interests of justice, it is our view that appropriate action should be taken against Mr Godknows Maravanyika.”
On Thursday, Minister Mpofu referred all questions to board chairman Harid – who, however, has no authority to act against a permanent secretary, who is his boss. When this was pointed out to the minister, he insisted Harid could deal with our questions. Minister Mpofu then said he was “watching news” and hung up his phone.
Harid said: “All media enquiries about Air Zimbabwe are handled by the minister. I’m sorry I can’t be of any help to you.” Herald
MUNESU Munodawafa — a former principal director in Vice President Joice Mujuru’s office and now permanent secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development — should be suspended to allow corruption allegations against him involving $305 000 to be investigated “to a logical conclusion,” Air Zimbabwe auditors have advised the Government.
The auditors have written to the minister Obert Mpofu and the Air Zimbabwe board reminding them that a year after their findings, nothing had been done “despite the severity of the issues raised and the quantum of potential financial prejudice to the Government”.
Half-a-dozen former Air Zimbabwe executives have been arrested and charged with corruption after a forensic audit report by BCA Forensic Audit Services linked them to a US$11 million aviation insurance scam.
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| Mr Munodawafa |
For a period of two months in early 2009, Air Zimbabwe’s planes took to the skies without any insurance after ZimRe Reinsurance Company (now Baobab), received but failed to remit premiums.
The airline also paid inflated premiums to Navistar, a company which the audit found had a generally corrupt relationship with some Air Zimbabwe executives, particularly Pfumbidzayi.
Navistar was appointed when Peter Chikumba was CEO. He told the auditors that he had never approved the deal — which is not supported by any standard legal contract — and BCA concluded that Pfumbidzayi entered into the arrangement by herself.
Working with other senior managers, Pfumbidzayi actively pushed through the payments to Navistar. Once, when there was a delay of a US$305 000 payment to Navistar, Munodawafa, wrote to Air Zimbabwe asking them to expedite the payment. The auditors concluded Munodawafa was “conflicted”.
“During the course of the investigation, we held a meeting with Munodawafa in which meeting he expressed his view that the payments of 300 000 euros per quarter by Air Zimbabwe to Navistar are not fraudulent,” the auditors said in the findings which were shared with Mpofu and the Air Zimbabwe board in December last year.
They added: “All other executives of Air Zimbabwe, including the former group chief executive officer Peter Chikumba, with the exception of Grace Pfumbidzayi, accepted that the payments of 300 000 euros per quarter were baseless and fraudulent.”
But exactly a year on, the auditors say their recommendations have largely been ignored.
A day after they presented their audit findings, the Air Zimbabwe board led by Ozias Bvute – which commissioned the investigation – was booted out of office by Minister Mpofu without explanation. An interim board led by Valentine Sinemani was appointed, but soon replaced by the Abdulman Erick Harid board.
In a November 6, 2014, letter seen by The Herald and addressed to Harid, BCA chief forensic investigator Budhama Chikamhi expressed his disappointment that his key recommendation that individuals connected to the fraud be “specified” under the Prevention of Corruption Act had been ignored.
An investigation in terms of the Act gives the auditor wider powers than an ordinary investigation, and allows authorities to freeze assets of individuals. Only this way, the auditor says, can they follow the money and establish who were the other beneficiaries of the corrupt payments.
In his letter, Chikamhi says following his submission of the audit report, a “high level review” had established that Munodawafa “was advised by a technocrat in the insurance industry, whom he personally consulted for advice”, that there was “no basis… for payment of the US$305 000”, yet he “proceeded to write a letter to Air Zimbabwe asking the airline to pay Navistar.”
“The permanent secretary Munesu Munodawafa should answer a number of questions involving this transaction which according to available evidence appears fraudulent,” Chikamhi says.
He adds that if the current board “wants the truth to be unravelled and have the culprits brought to book, which culprits would most likely include the Permanent Secretary Mr Munodawafa as he played a pivotal role in this transaction… it is our view that for this matter to be investigated without interference, Mr Munodawafa should be suspended as the investigation will entail interacting with heads of parastatals under the ministry, which exercise we tried to do when we were investigating the scam involving the aviation insurance with no success as we could not get the necessary cooperation.”
The auditor also told of his disappointment that former Air Zimbabwe staffer Godknows Maravanyika, now the general manager of National Handling Services (NHS), had not been put before a disciplinary committee. Instead, he had won a promotion after being transferred from Air Zimbabwe to NHS, which also falls under the Transport Ministry.
“Mr Godknows Maravanyika authorised the payment of inflated invoices from Navistar resulting in financial prejudice,” Chikamhi says in his letter.
He added that while presenting their report to Minister Mpofu, the auditors “highlighted the fact that while disciplinary hearings had been instituted for all the employees of Air Zimbabwe implicated in the report, no action had been taken against Maravanyika as he was now working for the National Handling Service”.
He concludes: “In the interests of justice, it is our view that appropriate action should be taken against Mr Godknows Maravanyika.”
On Thursday, Minister Mpofu referred all questions to board chairman Harid – who, however, has no authority to act against a permanent secretary, who is his boss. When this was pointed out to the minister, he insisted Harid could deal with our questions. Minister Mpofu then said he was “watching news” and hung up his phone.
Harid said: “All media enquiries about Air Zimbabwe are handled by the minister. I’m sorry I can’t be of any help to you.” Herald
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