Executives of Zimbabwean state-controlled enterprises ordered last week to report to the government how much they are being paid were said Friday to be resisting disclosure, demanding a presidential directive to do so.
Government sources said not a single parastatal executive has given salary information to the relevant ministers as the Cabinet directed in a move toward curbing executive pay that ranges up to US$15 000 a month.
The executives, mostly former military commanders, believe State Enterprises Minister Gorden Moyo of the Movement for Democratic Change, has a hidden agenda. But Moyo said most heads of state enterprises have failed to submit financial reports for six years, warning that they could face prosecution if they refuse to comply.
“Our ministry was taken aback when we learned that these executives have not been able to conduct proper business procedures during the past six years resulting in the firms running without any approved budget and audited financial statements,” Moyo said. He added that “time has come to do the right things,” he said.
Moyo told VOA Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube that he expects the executives appointed by President Robert Mugabe to comply with the Cabinet decision. “If the executives do not want to implement the Cabinet directive then we have to use the necessary state laws to ensure that they disclose their salaries to line ministries,” he said.
The top executives of Zimbabwe's state-controlled enterprises, mostly former military commanders, are said to believe State Enterprises Minister Gorden Moyo of the Movement for Democratic Change has a hidden agenda