Integrity of salary tribunal member under spotlight

Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
The credibility of the tribunal appointed by Harare Mayor Councillor Bernard Manyenyeni to look into allegations of payment of mega salaries to officials has come under the spotlight again after one of its members was found guilty of abusing money belonging to a client in 2015.

Secretary of the tribunal Mr Puwayi Chiutsi was recently ordered to pay back an outstanding $70 000 to a client following a transaction in which the lawyer sold a property on his client’s behalf, but did not remit the full amount.

High Court judge Justice Joseph Mafusire ordered Chiutsi of Chiutsi Legal Practitioners to pay Mr Eliot Rogers the money following a transaction involving an immovable property that he had sold on his behalf for $266 000.

Last year, Chiutsi was also among the lawyers who appeared before a tribunal set up by the Law Society of Zimbabwe to investigate practitioners accused of misusing clients’ funds.

Officials who have appeared before the tribunal also alleged that its members did not understand council procedures and former High Court judge Justice George Smith, who is said to be chairing the tribunal, is not really into it and at times walks out of proceedings just after they start.

Clr Manyenyeni on Thursday said the matter was news to him.

“I would like to know more about that,” he said. “We are not dealing with that specifically, we are confident the whole exercise would be professional. We are hoping we will not have to wait much longer for the findings.”

Fears abound that the appointment of the tribunal prompted by a Government audit which unearthed financial irregularities at Town House could have been irregular and its findings null and void.

It has emerged that council flouted the Urban Councils Act when it appointed the tribunal chaired by retired Justice Smith when according to Section 100 of the Urban Councils Act, a councillor was supposed to chair the tribunal whose other members should also be councillors.

According to the audit report sanctioned by the Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Ministry, city executives continued to earn between $12 000 and $21 000 from October 2014 to June 2015, as opposed to $10 450 for the highest earner as stipulated by Government.

This, the report said, prejudiced the city of over $550 000.