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Peter Matambanadzo Senior Reporter
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation has secured an undisclosed amount of money to pay its workers and has started a verification process to ensure ghost workers are not paid.
The workers had not been paid since June last year.
In an interview yesterday, ZBC spokesperson Mr Gladman Dandama said, “I confirm that some officers from the Ministry of Media, Information and Broadcasting Services were here today (yesterday) and were taking identification and bank details of employees.”
“As you are aware there have been media reports that there are some ghost workers being paid.
“So we are working with the ministry to ensure that this is eliminated and only real staff members are paid.”
There have been allegations that ghost workers, including deceased persons, were on ZBC’s payroll.
“So the staff members were asked to physically produce their identification particulars and also provide bank details before appending their signature to the list of workers being compiled,” Mr Dandama added.
After that workers would be paid salaries due from June 2013 to December 2013.
According to sources, some staff members have already been paid their dues.
“The ministry officials were here at Pockets Hill verifying. That was the process and those who were cleared first have already received their salaries,” one source said.
The Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Ministry intervened at ZBC after workers went for more than six months without pay, resulting in chief executive officer Mr Happison Muchechetere being sent on forced leave pending a forensic audit of the national broadcaster.
Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo dissolved the ZBC board led by Mr Cuthbert Dube after it failed to submit a turnaround strategy document as he had requested.
In a recent meeting with management and the workers committee, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services deputy Minister Supa Mandiwanzira said the Comptroller and Auditor-General would soon issue a tender to an auditing firm to undertake the forensic audit of ZBC.
Management took an initiative to cut their salaries by 40 percent, and that of middle management by between 20 and 30 percent.
Online Reporter