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 THE troubled Grain Marketing Board (GMB) submitted two different sets of its unaudited results for the same period to government sparking fears that parastatals may be cooking their books after they were given a three-month ultimatum to put their act together.
The financial statements reveal that the parastatal is virtually insolvent as it is saddled with enormous debts.
A fortnight ago, government approved a cocktail of proposals to overhaul the perennially loss-making parastatals.
The proposals made by the Minister of State Enterprises and Parastatals, Gorden Moyo included the submission of salary scales for approval by line ministries, production of audited financial statements, annual general meetings and restructuring.
Moyo’s far-reaching recommendations were among measures spurred by a realisation that managers at some parastatals were earning as much as US$11 000 a month.
It emerged that there has been a stampede by parastatals to present their salary schedules, and audited accounts to their line ministries following the directive.
Some held overdue annual general meetings, days after the directive while the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation saw four of its top managers being sent on forced leave for alleged incompetence.
Air Zimbabwe, Zupco, GMB and the National Railways of Zimbabwe were some of the parastatals that saw a flurry of activity. But it is the GMB case that an observer said best illustrates the panic in the sector.
A set of GMB’s unaudited management accounts for the month ending April 30 were first submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development on July 23.
Another set for the same period was submitted on July 26 showing markedly different level of figures for the loss-making parastatal’s reserves and liabilities.
Although Joseph Made, the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development was not answering his phone yesterday when The Standard sought his comment, sources said the boob has left government contemplating a forensic audit into GMB.
Albert Mandizha, the GMB general manager was also not available to comment on the development last week.
However, both accounts obtained by The Standard last week show that GMB needs at least US$12 million to come out of its insolvency.
They also illustrate how political decisions have pushed the country’s sole grain buyer to the verge of collapse.
In 2000, it embarked on massive roll-out of depots that saw it building permanent depots in low-grain-producing areas such as Tsholotsho in an exercise that critics said was meant to absorb Zanu PF youths from the controversial national youth service.
The move, according to the financial statements, saw GMB staffing levels rising from 1 199 permanent employees in 2000 to 3 647 by April 2008 resulting in an unsustainable wage bill of US$1,1 million a month.
“There is (a) disproportionate relationship between tonnage handled and employment levels,” the two statements concluded.
“Employment levels have remained too high when business shrunk significantly hence there is an urgent need to right-size.”
The GMB salary scale ranges between US$138 for the lowest paid employee to US$1 000. These figures exclude allowances paid to senior management.
There are other parastatals such as NRZ and Zupco who are also reeling from Zanu PF’s populist policies.
According to correspondence from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Finance accompanying the financial statements, GMB owes wheat farmers US$5,2 million for the 2007/8 and 2008/9 seasons.
The figures exclude money owed to farmers who failed to collect their cheques at various GMB depots during the hyperinflation period.
BY KHOLWANI NYATHI
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