adminTendai Rupapa Senior Court Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission has been ordered to immediately pay its 26 investigators and intelligence officers outstanding allowances and benefits amounting to US$1,5 million after the commission’s appeal was thrown away on Friday.ZACC had appealed against an arbitral award in favour of the workers to be paid their allowances.
However, Labour Court judge Justice Lilian Kudya ruled on Friday that the commission was in contempt of court after it failed to comply with the March court order to pay the 26 workers.
Justice Kudya said the fact that the workers applied for registration of their award at the High Court has no effect on the award which has been appealed against in the court.
The commission in its appeal had maintained that it had not applied for a stay of the arbitral award pending appeal because the respondents filed an application with the High Court to register the award in question.
“It is clear that from the facts of the instant case that the registration application is just pending and has no effect on the award which has been appealed against in this court. The court is satisfied that the Appellant is indeed in contempt of the law to that extent and cannot be entertained by this court,” she said.
In that regard Justice Kudya dismissed the case at the preliminary stage without getting into the merits of the matter.
In her ruling she said: “That all the points in limine being with merit be and are hereby upheld with costs.
“The appeal by the Appellant is consequently struck off the roll for non-compliance in the respects set out by the points in limine.”
She ruled that the commission was approaching the court with dirty hands without first seeking the setting aside of the arbitral award.
“In the instant case, the law is clear that an arbitral award is not suspended by the mere noting of an appeal to the Labour Court. The arbitral award in question has not been suspended or stayed and to that extent the appellant is in breach of the law from which it seeks to get redress,” Justice Kudya said.
Justice Kudya said all the three preliminary points raised by the respondents (workers) through their lawyer had merits and should be upheld.
She said the points were well placed and should succeed.
“It is clear that all the points in limine are merited and should succeed in their entirety,” she said.
According to court documents, the contract signed by the employees was such that they were entitled to a housing allowance, transport allowance, cellphone allowance, and provision of motor vehicles to officers without vehicles, a 13th cheque, anti-corruption allowance, group life cover, medical aid, risk allowance, education and school fees allowance.
In March this year, arbitrator Mr Rodgers Matsikidze, ruled in favour of the employees and awarded each of them various amounts ranging between US$53 000 and US$61 000.
He said the commission’s human resources section was in shambles and that it was unfairly treating the workers. In the award, Mr Matsikidze urged the commission to take care of the staff saying poor conditions and salaries might tempt them to engage into corrupt activities.
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