‘Yaluma Failing To Avert The Management Crisis Looming At Zambezi River Authority’

Minister of Energy, Christopher Yaluma, has failed to keep the two Zambian directors on the management team of the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), a bi-lateral organization owned equitably by the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe. ZRA faces an imminent management vacuum following the retirement of two of its directors on 31 March, 2014.

According to internal sources at the ZRA, the employment contracts for the Finance Director who is also the Corporate Secretary and the Director for Water Resources and Environmental Management, both Zambians, came to an end on March 31st 2014. However, the two directors were given a two week extension to do a handover. On the other hand, a Zimbabwean director, whose contract has also expired has had his extended and has carried on working.

The management vacuum has come about because the Human Resource and Administration Manager failed to advise management and the Board on a succession plan. There are two other retirees who have received over six months extensions post retirement because their jobs have not been advertised.

“This lack of professionalism has cost implications and has also caused disgruntlement among employees who had pinned hopes on the impending vacancies,” the sources revealed. Furthermore, the directors who are leaving are Zambians while it is rumored that their Zimbabwean colleague who was also engaged on contract at the same time is likely to get a three year extension. The Zimbabwean is the director for Projects and Dam Safety who is responsible for the Kariba Dam.

Recently, the media has highlighted the issues of cracks and a possibility of collapse at the dam wall.

The ZRA directors were initially pensionable employees. Following a re-structuring exercise in 2005, the directors were paid terminal benefits and retained on five year contracts. They were granted an extension in 2010, following which the Director for Projects and Dam Safety is seeking yet another extension.

As such, employment positions should be equalized but this is not obtaining on the ground. It is alleged the HR and Administration Manager has neglected her role and concentrated on securing a higher grade for herself and those loyal to her at the expense of core business. The alleged positions are in a recently approved re-structuring exercise which is being implemented in a non-transparent manner with allegations of fraudulently slipping in non-existent posts which are person specific.

This incompetent HR manager at ZRA with less than three years-experience (as she is a former secretary) spent colossal sums of money (almost K250, 000) on implementing dysfunctional ERP-HR projects and policies which have never seen the light of day in both 2012 and 2013. With all these financial mismanagements and incompetence, the manager in question earned a promotion on a non-existence post with a large salary increment. This position was never advertised and she seems to be on a mission to loot. Clearly a lot of corruption is prevailing in this organization.

The Zimbabweans (CEO and his Director for Projects and Dam Safety) have spent 5 times the budgeted amount on a gravel road in Chief Mukuni’s area, Livingstone to access the Batoka Gorge for a proposed hydro- electric power project.

Meanwhile the same Zimbabwean director is building luxury lodges in his Zimbabwean home town of Kariba. The question is where is the funding coming from?? Could it be diverted resources from the maintenance of the Kariba Dam or the ZRA Home Ownership Scheme as he is the only one administering the ZRA home ownership scheme meant for all employees for both Zambia and Zimbabwe.

ZRA does not seem to have any checks and balances, apart from a very corrupt management and a compromised internal auditor who concentrates on minor issues which don’t make a difference to the balance sheet.

Posted by Kunda on April 15, 2014. Filed under POLITICS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry