eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
National Social Security Authority (NSSA) acting general manager, Dr Charles Shava, has been arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) for allegedly paying unauthorised allowances to four doctors.
Reports say the doctors’ allowances were paid under a November last year board resolution – which could cost the authority $1 billion-plus over four years.
This comes as the 57-year-old executive had tried to preempt criminal proceedings against him by sanitising his actions through a weekend statement that the 115 percent pay increase was a “skills retention scheme” and in defiance of acting chairperson Merjury Chinyemba’s order to suspend the incentives.
“Arrested… is Charles Shava… for fraud involving $12 246 571,48. The accused altered a board resolution, which (had) rejected the proposed allowances for four NSSA doctors..,” according to ZACC report.
The accused was detained at Avondale police station on Thursday.
While the occupational safety and health director had tried to justify his actions by saying that it had “been difficult to keep medical staff” and, therefore, the move “will help curb the perennial loss”, the development comes as the compulsory pensions fund is torn by serious infighting and the ex-Airforce of Zimbabwe senior staffer is under probe for a mortgage financing deal by the graft-busting agency.
As it is, Dr Shava has virtually survived in his “temporary stewardship” of NSSA at the back of support from some external parties and to a point of frustrating Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Professor Paul Mavima’s prudent plan to rotate interim general managers under the guise of “preserving an on-going AMG Global Accountants forensic audit” to which he is also subjected to.
And while ZACC has chosen to dwell on the $12 million prejudice based on the February salaries, the figure could actually rise to $1,1 billion considering that the four doctors were to be paid the Zimbabwe dollar equivalent of US$6 800 (at the prevailing exchange rate of $860-plus) per month for four years.
This would not only see NSSA losing billions in an unsanctioned and fraudulent salary scheme, but other professionals like engineers, lawyers and other experts – employed for decades, and complaining about poor remuneration for years – had not been covered under the scheme.
In as much as substantive boss Arthur Manase was indefinitely suspended in July, he has been cleared by a number of law enforcement agencies – unlike Dr Shava and another high-profile director David Makwara, who have been arrested by ZACC.
Meanwhile, Shepherd Muperi has been appointed the acting GM in the aftermath of the trained doctor’s arrest.
