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Commissioner Emmanuel Chimwanda

Felex Share Herald Reporter
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating two of its officers who were allegedly paid by the Dr Cuthbert Dube-led zifa administration while investigating the Asiagate scam.
Asiagate refers to a series of fixed matches between Zimbabwe’s national team and several Asian sides.
An audit of zifa shows that ZACC employees Mr Emmanuel Chimwanda and Mr Courage Nyamajiwa ended up being paid “allowances” by the Dr Dube-led administration.

The payments were made via a loan extended by a company owned by Dr Dube, Buymore Investments.
ZACC chairperson Mr Denford Chirindo yesterday said it was an offence for any official to receive a gift or payment from a complainant or accused person or institution.

“We do not operate that way and we will do something about it,” he said. “I am getting an appraisal from the general manager (investigations) on that audit and we will come up with something. We have to act on it, if proved, because it is an offence for one to receive money as alleged.”

Mr Chirindo said the anti-graft body had core values to be followed by all officers.
“It is all about transparency and accountability and this is what we expect from everyone. Our motto is refuse, resist and reject and report any corruption thereby making it an offence for one to go against this.”

According to the 2012 zifa audited financial statements, ZACC commissioner Mr Chimwanda received a total of $20 000 on three occasions for being part of the zifa Ethics Committee.

Mr Chimwanda received $2 000 on March 16, 2012; $8 000 on June 15, 2012; and $10 000 on August 16, 2012.
Mr Nyamajiwa, a ZACC investigator, received US$1 500 on October 25, 2012 and the payment was listed as being for an “Asiagate witness, accommodation and allowances”.

Queries have also been raised on how a ZACC investigator could turn into an “Asiagate witness” who needed “accommodation and allowances” paid by zifa. Analysts said for Dr Dube’s executive to pay Mr Chimwanda and Mr Nyamajiwa at a time ZACC was supposed to be carrying out independent investigations into the scam indicated that the outcome of the probes might be skewed.

zifa were the complainants in the case and Mr Nyamajiwa was fully employed and equipped by ZACC to conduct investigations.
The ethics committee led by retired judge Justice Ahmed Ebrahim also received a number of payments from zifa.

Four members of the committee were paid $4 000 on June 18, 2012 while Justice Ebrahim was paid $8 000 on June 19, 2012.
Two others were paid $2 600 on August 4, 2012 for “meals and accommodation”. The committee as a whole got $10 000 on September 5, 2012.

In 2012, about $92 000 was paid to the various investigation committees, using money borrowed by zifa from Dr Dube’s Buymore Investments.
Dr Dube loaned close to $1 million to zifa through Buymore Investments.

The money, according to the audit, was for operations and payment of zifa board members, employees, councillors, consultants, national team players, coaches and backroom staff.

In just 10 months, from January 2012 to October 2012, zifa received $69 799 from Buymore Investments as a loan for the payment of salaries, some of the money being balances owed from the previous year.

In January 2012, Buymore Investments poured $17 325 from its coffers into zifa, as loans, for the payment of the salaries of those who work at 53 Livingstone Avenue in Harare.

The following month, there was another payment of $14 200, towards the same salary bill from the same source, and in March $9 700 was paid for the exercise.
The last payment towards salaries in 2012 from Buymore Investments, according to the schedule at hand, came on August 10, 2012 when there was a once-off payment of $10 000 to cater for the employees.

Dr Dube was recently re-elected to lead zifa for the next four years.
The Asiagate scam led to the arrest of former zifa chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya, who was tried and acquitted.