Parks and Wildlife bosses suspended over R100 000
Friday, 20 February 2009 16:43

THE Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has suspended two senior officials following the mysterious disappearance of R100 000 while they were on a shopping trip in South Africa.


Insiders at the Authority claim the disappearance of the foreign currency was part of a well-orchestrated scam by senior personnel to fleece the parastatal.
Investigations by The Financial Gazette show shocking foreign currency pillaging at the Authority with senior managers going on foreign trips without Cabinet authority.
It is understood that the Authority has been collecting foreign currency through accommodation receipts and other activities since November last year, but the money was allegedly being misappropriated by senior personnel while lower level employees were surviving on selling biltong "poached" from the national parks.
The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority board headed by George Pangeti last Wednesday suspended finance director, Amos Pasinawako and procurement officer, Alec Mandimutsa, after they went on an unauthorised shopping trip to South Africa in which they subsequently lost R100 000 cash.
Olivia Mufute, the Authority's acting public relations manager, said she was not in a position to comment on the incident, claiming she had no authority to do so from her boss who was in South Africa on business.
"The director general (DG) is out of office until later in the week. I am not allowed to comment without the DG's authority," said Mufute.
But Parks officials said the suspension of Pasinawako and Mandimutsa, who could not be reached for comment at the time of going to print, was an "open secret" at the Authority as every employee had been eager to see what authorities would do about them after the alleged unauthorised trip.
"They (Pasinawako and Mandimutsa) wanted to buy bond paper, lawn mowers, biscuits, cartridges and vehicle parts," said a Parks source familiar with the development. "These guys only came back from South Africa with three lawnmowers and 25 boxes of bond paper. They claimed that all the money was stolen at gunpoint while they were still in South Africa.
"Surprisingly, there was no police report from South Africa and sadly enough, they brought invoices for some computer wares and cartridges from a South African company worth R164, 689,32.
“This amount was supposed to be paid as cash since they had carried the money. But they did not pay since they said the money was stolen. The South African company was then paid through a bank transfer from Harare," said the source.
The sources said due to disgruntlement among workers, the board last week moved with speed to serve the two senior staff with suspension letters.