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. . .as Turnall retrenches top two executives
TURNALL Holdings managing director Caleb Musodza and finance director Kenias Horonga have stepped down from the company following mutual agreement with the board as part of measures to cut costs, chairperson Rita Likukuma said.Mr Musodza, who took over as the company’s managing director from Mr John Jere in September 2014 and Mr Horonga, resigned with effect from October 1 and will proceed on leave until December 31. The board has appointed marketing executive Ms Roseline Chisveto as acting managing director and Mr Prince Mutataguta as finance director.Contacted for a comment yesterday Mr Musodza said his resignation followed a mutual agreement with the board to lower the cost base of the troubled organisation. “I was retrenched to lower company employment costs. Many Turnall employees have been retrenched before me to reduce costs and I am not an exception. My contract of employment with Turnall provides for this possibility. It’s unfortunate that there are malicious people who think that the separation was due to other reasons.
“For the record, the allegations that have been circulating in the media were all thoroughly checked and verified by the board via a commissioned internal audit and were all proven to be false and mischievous. You can verify this with the board chairperson.
“I leave the Turnall family on a good standing and via an amicable retrenchment exercise, of which I was a voluntary participant, a fact you can verify with the board chairperson. I trust this clarifies the truth regarding my separation with Turnall and that this truth dismisses the theories relating to false allegations and mismanagement.”
While the separation was mutual, well placed sources told The Herald Business that the managing director proposed the retrenchment in light of declining revenues.
Sources said the retrenchment of the two would result in the company saving about $336 000 per year.
“His argument was that by replacing him and Mr Horonga with other executives who are not on specialised contracts would substantially reduce employment costs,” said one source.
“So he proposed that the marketing executive be appointed managing director.”
Turnall has already told the market that it anticipates a loss position for the full year 2016 driven largely by cost initiatives whose benefits will be realised from 2017 onwards.
A number of allegations have been raised against Mr Horonga with sources saying that the board had already raised concern about various issues of corporate governance. Prior to his appointment at Turnall, Mr Horonga was FD at Colcom where he left after an audit unearthed questionable procurement procedures and porous systems at the company.
“The board is pressing some kind of corruption charges against Mr Horonga and the MD might not have wanted to be dragged in the issues. He felt his reputation was at stake.”
It is understood that once all the information has been gathered, the issue could be made criminal.
Turnall is also probing various deals involving Mr Horonga which could have prejudiced the company of $300 000 through a misrepresentation of a pressure pipes deal from South Africa.
He also faces allegations of forgery involving over $90 000.
In July, Swiss firm, Ramatex SA took Turnall to the High Court in a bid to recover $1,1 million which the local firm had failed to pay for fibre supplied. Ramatex SA alleges that Mr Horonga forged a bank transfer amounting to $93 532 as part payment of a $1,1 million debt for fibre supplied to Turnall in April this year.
As a result of the allegations the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe (Icaz) has launched investigations on Mr Horonga.
Online Reporter