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Clamp Down On Greedy Executives [opinion]
[January 26, 2014]

Clamp Down On Greedy Executives [opinion]


(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The on-going exposure of the astronomic salaries that executives of some public entities are awarding themselves, brings to the open the avaricious nature of the chief executive officers who have been entrusted with public funds for years.



It exposes too, the ineptitude of the people that sit on the boards of these institutions and ultimately, the ministers that run the government portfolios under which these organisations fall.

If Zimbabweans were shocked by the US$40 000 salary that Happison Muchechetere, the suspended chief executive of the national broadcaster, ZBC, was paid every month, they must have been outraged to read that PSMAS boss Cuthbert Dube was getting US$230 000.


The ordinary Zimbabwean -- for instance the civil servant who took ages to negotiate a US$50 increment -- can never be able to understand how one individual could be paid such a hefty monthly pay cheque, let alone imagine what that money could possibly be used for in a small country like Zimbabwe.

Granted, we would not expect the chief executive of an organisation like PSMAS to accept the civil servant's modest pay, on the grounds that such packages are necessary to retain top talent; but in an economy like ours, such an astronomic executive pay cannot be justified.

There is a dire need to clamp down on greedy executives who are awarding themselves salaries that are not related to the performance of their companies. The public anger over these egregious salaries is very understandable. The people's frustration stem from the fact that while these few individuals enrich themselves, most of them are running down their institutions.

While Dube was being paid almost a quarter of a million every month, PSMAS incurred US$38 million debts under his watch. Last week civil servants who are the main contributors to the medial aid scheme learnt that their schemes were in jeopardy as a result of mismanagement.

We call on the government to clamp down on these greedy executives who have milked state-owned companies for far too long. Performance-based contracts should be introduced and non-performing executives and those with corrupt tendencies should be kicked out as a matter of urgency.

Copyright Zimbabwe Standard. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

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