By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) this week invaded and camped at the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) offices in Harare to investigate complaints of alleged malpractices, corruption, corporate governance failures and suspicious movements of senior officials at the statutory corporate body tasked by the government to provide social security, it has emerged.
Zacc investigators have been camped on the 10th floor of Nssa building where they are investigating, among other issues, corporate governance in critical departments that include audit, finance, investments, procurement and property in a bid to establish if corporate processes and procedures are being followed by the departments in executing their mandate.
Nssa was created by an Act of Parliament and the law empowers the minister of Labour and Social Welfare to establish social security schemes for the provision of benefits in respect of all employees.
Nssa’s mandate is to administer every scheme and fund established in terms of the Act and advise the minister on all matters concerning the operations of the schemes and on matters relating to social security in general.
Impeccable sources confirmed to The NewsHawks that the anti-corruption investigators arrived at the Nssa offices this Monday to initiate the probe process. They are asking for documents and interviewing several officials.
Several Nssa departmental officials have been questioned by the Zacc. This comes amid allegations that the top management is interfering with internal corporate governance processes, providing a useful glimpse into how Nssa subsidiaries, including the National Building Society (NBS), are run.
As part of the process, the Zacc investigators are probing the recent deployments and redeployments of key senior staff members in those departments.
Sources said some of the key members of staff at the company have been removed, some redeployed and others frozen out completely. It emerged that the Zacc probe was necessitated by staff changes and serial violations of corporate governance processes.
Among some of the key people interviewed are the heads of human resources, property, special projects, audit and investments. Zacc investigators are particularly keen on finding out why some senior staffers were shifted. They also want to find out why in one case a junior employee from the NBS finance epartment has been elevated to the post of Nssa’s acting finance director.
The anti-graft body’s spokesperson, John Makamure, was not immediately available for comment. A senior Zacc official confirmed that a probe is underway at Nssa, but without getting into detail.
“We cannot speak on the issue now,” the Zacc official said curtly, but after confirming the investigation.
Nssa spokesperson Tendai Mutseyekwa was also not reachable for comment despite several attempts by The NewsHawks to reach out to him.