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Danisa Masuku
RHODES ESTATE PREPARATORY SCHOOL (REPS) headmaster Patrick Nyoni has allegedly set up a secret foreign currency account (FCA) to illegally siphon funds from the school through the black market.
The Government has since dispatched a team of auditors to investigate the alleged embezzlement of funds.
The allegations against Nyoni have been documented and sent to ZRP Matopo, CID Plumtree, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, Matabeleland North education office and the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education.
According to the report, Nyoni is raiding the school coffers alone, but is aided by his deputy Miss Albina Ncube, current School Development Committee (SDC) chairperson Brian Phiri, previous SDC chairperson Tobias Moyo and some teachers.
They are said to have gone on shopping sprees in Botswana using the looted funds.
“They opened a Foreign Currency Account (FCA) and ordered parents based in the diaspora to deposit school fees into it. They would withdraw the funds and buy local currency in the black market which they would convert to their personal use,” the document reads in part.
The document further reveals that: “One parent who is based in Botswana and only identified as Mr Guta, who has two children at the school, during second term this year he (parent) allegedly paid P12 000 purportedly to be school fees for a single term.
“The bursar was harassed and ordered by Nyoni and Ncube to receipt the money in a 2011 receipt book which was locked away in the storeroom with other old receipt books. The headmaster allegedly “borrowed” US$960 from school fees collected at the beginning of the second term and never returned it. He went to Botswana to do shopping.”
The document reveals that REPS SDC Chairman Phiri blocked parents from scrutinising the receipts.
The report further reads: “Nyoni and SDC chairperson Phiri behaved unusually defensive and hostile towards the parents in the meeting as parents innocently raised issues pertaining to deteriorating standards of living for the boarding children’s poor diet. Parents contributed US$47 per child towards a solar project at the school and no receipts were issued to parents for this money.”
The document discloses that when their corruption was exposed by a certain teacher the headmaster and bursar made noises about reporting the matter to the police but they never did.
Contacted for a comment Matabeleland South Provincial Education Director Lefias Masukume said: “We received such information about alleged abuse of funds at the school. We had to dispatch a team of auditors to audit the school accounts. We are yet to get the feedback from the auditors.”
B-Metro did not contact the headmaster as civil servants are not allowed to talk to the press.
Online Reporter