SecZim investigates  Chirume’s conduct
alban chirume

Mr Chirume

 Happiness Zengeni  Business Editor
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe has said it is now investigating the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange following complaints over its unprofessional and unethical conduct over the manner it handled the Meikles suspension and the subsequent lifting.SecZim is empowered by the Securities and Exchange Act to conduct such investigations as the ZSE is a registrant in terms of the same Act.

The investigations will establish the probity of the manner that ZSE chief executive Alban Chirume handled the Meikles Limited matter, not just its suspension but also its reinstatement.

Mr Chirume is said to have acted un-procedurally when he suspended Meikles last week before going further to act in an unprofessional manner when the decision to bar the counter from trading was reversed.

Following the complaint by Meikles through Tendai Biti Law last week, another complaint against the CEO’s conduct was made this week after the suspension was lifted. Lawyer Tendai Biti in a letter to SecZim complains against the conduct of Mr Chirume in the way that he announced the lifting of the suspension.

If found guilty by the commission, Mr Chirume could be suspended from his post or relieved of his duties. This is not the first time that SecZim will be moving in to investigate the office of the CEO of the exchange. The same process occurred with past CEO Emmanuel Munyukwi who was suspended and subsequently left the exchange on mutual agreement.

Mr Chirume has also drawn criticism over the notice he published in the paper yesterday which urged investors to exercise caution when dealing with Meikles shares.

Analysts argue that it is not in his place to urge caution over the dealing of shares.

“Imagine the RBZ saying depositors must exercise caution when depositing money with AfriAsia? This is a game of confidence and in this case the ZSE is in a way urging people to stay away from Meikles.”

The ZSE board met yesterday to deliberate on the course of action to take against the CEO but details of the meeting could not be obtained at the time of going to print.

Away from the Meikles issue, Mr Chirume has faced criticism over the purchase of a residential building in Ballantyne Park, the overshooting of the budget in the purchase of a vehicle and the numerous instances he has undermined the ZSE board and stockbrokers.

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