VOLUNTARY SEPARATEES BODY HAGGLE OVER ASSETS
CONFUSION between the Voluntary Separatees Association of Zambia (VSAZ) and its former general secretary Simemeza Syachoke has deepened. The association now says Mr. Syachoke had been reported to police for motor vehicle theft after he failed to return the vehicle he was using following his expulsion.
But Mr. Syachoke said he was not as ignorant as his nemesis who had little understanding of the constitution of the association and the conditions of service spelt out and signed by the same people who had turned around to accuse him of stealing.
Speaking to the Daily Nation yesterday, VSAZ acting general secretary Daniel Phiri said Mr. Syachoke did not resign but was fired on December 27, 2017 by the association following an annual general meeting on December 22, 2017.
The meeting passed a vote of no confidence and recommended that he be expelled over an alleged plethora of misdemeanours.
According to records given to the Daily Nation, Mr. Syachoke was fired after the AGM resolved that his services be terminated for gross misconduct and abuse of office.
According to draft minutes of the AGM, the meeting resolved to fire Mr. Syachoke on allegations that he had effected illegal deductions of huge sums of money from members as ZRA tax refund without the consent of national executive members and the general membership.
Mr. Syachoke is also alleged to have been making unilateral decisions on behalf of the association and that he had allegedly sold a motor vehicle of the association without its consent.
“He did not resign but was fired after the recommendation of the AGM because he has done a lot of illegalities. In addition to many illegalities he has committed, we discovered three days ago that he even went to the bank and obtained an overdraft of K25, 000 without the consent of anyone.
“He is busy misleading people through the media that he has changed the lawyers but where does he get the mandate to change lawyers to represent us? We will catch up with him soon and that is when he will be put to shame.
The police are actually after him because we have reported him for motor vehicle theft,” Mr. Phiri said.
But Mr. Syachoke maintained there was no crime he had committed and that those who were pursuing him were ignorant of the constitution and his conditions of service.
“Let me show you how ignorant they are. When you read the constitution under article five on legal representation of the association, there is nowhere where it says the association can find lawyers on behalf of the members and this is why we have three to four lawyers representing different groups of retirees despite being under the same association.
We have dumped Malipenga & Company and that is final.
“To further prove how misguided they are, tell them to read my conditions of service which some of them signed for under entitlements and you will see that it clearly shows that I was entitled to one or two new 4X4 motor vehicles every after five years which may be registered in my personal names as long as the association owes me.
“The association owes me and all these vehicles they are claiming are registered in my name and I have no obligation to release them until all my dues are paid,” Mr. Syachoke.