ZBC board seeks to annul pay rise

THE Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) board of directors is seeking nullification of the unsanctioned hefty pay rise effected by the company’s management for all workers during the tenure of former chief executive officer Mr Happison Muchechetere.

Between 2010 and 2011, Mr Muchechetere got a 459 percent salary increase, while earnings for general managers were hiked by 374 percent without the approval of the board.

Other managers and heads of departments were awarded a 149 percent rise. General staff got the least increase at 111 percent.

The salary hikes, according to the board, were fraudulent, unsanctioned and had the effect of crippling the operations of the State broadcaster.

In the court application to have the increments declared invalid and unlawful, ZBC board chairman Father Gibson Munyoro said the board officially granted a 20 percent pay rise to the general staff and 10 percent to management in 2010 and that any other increments were unlawful.

“However, management led by first respondent (Mr Muchechetere) fraudulently and unprocedurally effected unsanctioned salary increments above the levels approved by the board,” reads Father Munyoro’s founding affidavit.

“In all instances outlined above, no board authorisation was sought and obtained as is required by procedure. In the single instance where the board granted approval for increments as mentioned in paragraph 6 above, management awarded increments above those that were authorised.”

Father Munyoro said the general staff was only awarded a pay rise as a way to cover up for the hefty increases awarded to the top brass.

“The unsanctioned increments were generally given first to management and in an apparent effort to cover up and sanitise the unauthorised increments for management, general staff were also awarded salary increments which were applied across the board,” he said.

In the application filed by ZBC lawyers Scanlen and Holderness Legal Practitioners, Mr Muchechetere and 349 other workers were listed as respondents.

To that end, ZBC now seeks an order invalidating all obligations arising from the “clearly unlawful and fraudulent increments”.

The company does not want to pay any arrears arising from such increments. ZBC also seeks an order compelling the 350 respondents to pay costs of the suit.

Mr Muchechetere and the 349 other workers are yet to respond to the court application.