EMPLOYEE DUPES EMPLOYER OF US$144K

Zvikomborero Parafini

AN employee allegedly duped Zvikomborero Farms of over US$144 000.

She diverted the money from the company’s sales where she was employed as a cashier.

Panashe Chiwandire (25) appeared before magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa yesterday. Issues of bail didn’t arise because she was summoned to court.

The complainant is Zvikomborero Farms, represented by Tafirenyika Hove, the risk security officer.

Chiwandire was employed as a cashier at Meats and Mall Butchery at Eastgate Mall in Harare

The butchery is a subsidiary of Zvikomborero Farms.

The court heard that on a normal trading basis, the company had a system, which was installed by Aldotech Solutions, whereby Chiwandire would process sales using swipe, EcoCash and cash.

The system, however, had a weakness and payments made using swipe were not properly linked to the Electronic Funds System.

It is alleged that Chiwandire would then hand over the cash to her supervisor, Brian Manzunzu, who is her accomplice and still at large, who would then hand it over to the finance department at the company’s headquarters in Workington.

Stocks were handed over to Chiwandire and were recorded in the goods received voucher book and entered in the system by her.

It is alleged that on October 3, last year, the company, through the finance department, carried out a random sample of the business.

An audit was carried out and it was found out that Chiwandire and Manzunzu were not remitting some of the cash sales.

The company lost US$144 439 and nothing was recovered.