Many Zimbabwe State Enterprise Managers Resist Disclosure, Accountability
Some parastatal executives have said they will disclose salaries and file financial reports only if President Mugabe instructs them to
Most of Zimbabwe's state-controlled enterprises are insolvent and crippled with debt after years of poor management and asset-stripping by managers and workers About 30 of 76 Zimbabwean state-controlled enterprises have complied with a government directive to provide information on executive salaries and financial statements from 2005 to the present. But government sources said some parastatal executives still refuse to submit the required information by an October 31 deadline. They said the executives feel they are under attack by the Ministry of State Enterprises now headed by Gorden Moyo of the Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Such executives of Zimbabwe's large state business sector, mostly former army officers, said they will only respond to the government directive if President Robert Mugabe instructs them to do so. Moyo said however that some of the parastatal bosses have started submitting the information to their supervising ministries. Most such executives are earning US$11,000 to US$15,000 a month, sources said. Most Zimbabweans including state workers take home less than US$200 a month. Moyo told reporter Gibbs Dube that parastatal executives who fail to submit required data will face the consequences under the law. “I expect all of them to comply with the government directive," Moyo said. Most of Zimbabwe's state-controlled enterprises are riddled with crippling debts due to poor management and long-term plundering of assets by executives and disgruntled workers.