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Yeukai Karengezeka-Court Correspondent
Premier Services Medical Investment (PSMI) board chairperson Colonel Wellington Tutisa and vice chairperson Cecilia Alexander (55) yesterday appeared in court for allegedly prejudicing the organisation of US$900 000 and over $14 million in undue holiday allowances.
This came after four executives from the Premier Service Medical Aid Society, which is under the same holding company with PSMI, appeared in court on Thursday on allegations of stealing US$702 386.80 from their company in a botched gold deal.
Tutisa and Alexander appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje facing three counts of theft and for contravening the Public Finance Act.
The State, led by Mr Lancelot Mutsokoti, opposed bail and they were remanded in custody to May 2 for bail application.
The State alleged that Tutisa and Alexander were appointed to the board of PSMI as board chairperson and vice board chairperson respectively, for the period covering 2019 to July 2022.
PSMI established Health Shield Medical Service Limited Zambia as its subsidiary where they were further appointed as directors of that company.
The board of Health Shield Medical Service Limited Zambia passed a resolution to purchase a piece of land being Subdivision of number 27 of farm number 298A Lusaka, Zambia, measuring 8, 3474 hectares from Rainbow Tourism Group Zambia limited at US$900 000, which was paid in full.
PSMI, being a subsidiary of PSMAS, paid the purchase price to Rainbow Tourism Group Zimbabwe.
Thereafter, transfer of the property was duly made to Health Shield Medical Service Limited Zambia and a certificate of title was dully granted by the Government of Zambia.
Subsequent to the transfer, the sale was challenged by a Zambian citizen through the courts, leading to the cancellation of the certificate of title which had been granted.
Tutisa and Alexander were supposed to conduct due diligence during the purchase of the property in question and after the cancellation of the certificate of title, they failed to institute recovery proceedings to secure the purchase price.
The offence came to light through a forensic audit carried out by RBM Auditors and resultantly PSMI lost US$900 000.
For the second count, it is alleged that between January 2015 to January 2017, PSMI appointed the two as the PSMI board chairperson and vice board chairperson for three years.
The court also heard that on January 29, 2019, the two were re-appointed as PSMI board members for a second term and contracts of appointment extending to July 2022 were signed to that effect.
The terms and conditions of service of the board members were guided by the 2015 PSMI board terms of reference and board fee structure, which did not entitle holiday allowances to board members.
Sometime in October 2019, the two, together with other PSMI board members namely Richard Gundani, Vimbikai Magnes Kusema, Loveness Dumwa, Alexander Friend, Miriam Chahuruwa, Trevor Shaw, Miriam Chigunduru and Purazi, who are still at large, connived to steal funds from PSMI.
Tutisa and Alexander awarded each board member $27 000 as yearly holiday allowances well-knowing that the board members were not entitled to the allowance. As a result of their misconduct, PSMI lost $243 000.
On count three, the State alleged in 2020 Tutisa and Alexander knew they were entitled to a once off payment of local holiday allowances at the end of their tenure, which in this case was ending in July 2022.
In December 2020, the two awarded themselves undue yearly holiday allowances of $1 505 838 and $1 404 236 respectively with the other board members receiving $362 354 each. Consequently, PSMI suffered a prejudice of $5 084 176.
In 2021, Tutisi and Alexander, acting in connivance with their accomplices still at large used the same modus operandi of awarding themselves undue holiday allowances of $2 478 950 and $2 109 035 respectively.
The other aforementioned board members were awarded $797 422 each, leading to the prejudice of $9 372 522 and nothing was recovered.
The offence came to light after a tip-off leading to the arrest of the two.
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