State broadcaster Chief goes on leave to allow audit of books

On May 1, 2009 Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha announced through a press statement released to Times of Zambia that Zambia National Broadcasting  Corporation (ZNBC) Director General Joseph Salasini had voluntarily gone on leave to pave way for investigation into alleged financial mismanagement.  

Lt Gen. Shikapwasha said that the investigations would be undertaken by the Office of the Auditor General. According to a report monitored in The Post Newspaper, the ZNBC unionised staff had petitioned the minister to remove the ZNBC board and management for alleged financial irregularities.
 
“I have received a lot of accusations from your union leaders against management and I have not taken action on each one of them. For example, I have been shown the 135 percent housing allowance, the K650,00 talk-time allowance per month given to management when they have access to the land phone, the 250,000 litres of fuel per month worth K1.4 million but continue drawing company fuel from the corporation and many other serious allegations of financial mismanagement at ZNBC,” The Post quoted Lt. Gen. Shikapwasha.
 
He said after an audit report from the Auditor General’s Office, he would then act and dissolve the board if necessary.
 “I cannot act on these accusations you have tabled before me through your union until I have been able to deal with the Auditor’s Generals’ report,” The Minister said.

Rashweat Mukundu
Programme Specialist: Media Monitoring and Research
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Regional Secretariat
Private Bag 13386
21 Johann Albrecht Street
Windhoek
Tel: +264 61 232975
Mobile: + 264 81 367 5362
www.misa.org

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