HARARE - Information minister Jonathan Moyo has fired telecommunications entrepreneur Dennis Magaya as Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) chairman - barely 24 hours after appointing the South Africa-based businessman.
Magaya was scheduled to head a new board installed to replace the scandal-ridden one led by Cuthbert Dube.
“Following the announcement yesterday of Dr Dennis Magaya as the new ZBC board, the ministry regrets to advise that this appointment both to the board and its chair has been withdrawn,” Moyo said in a statement last night.
“This is after the ministry learnt today that despite Dr Magaya’s previous submissions, backed by a document record, his consultancy services at Powertel face serious allegations some of which have been previously raised by some sections of the media.
“The allegations are that he has been recipient of inflated consultancy fees and that he has been an underling beneficiary of the corruption of tender procedures by the recently-dissolved Powertel board.”
Powertel falls under the ministry of Energy and Power Development.
Moyo took exception that after designing a $25 million strategy for Powertel, the recently-dissolved Powertel board proceeded to hire Magaya to implement his own design despite the fact that the State Procurement Board (SPB) had specifically disqualified his company from participating in the tender on the grounds that he was conflicted as the designer of the strategy which was the subject of the tender.
Moyo said notwithstanding Magaya’s vast experience and impeccable professional background which stood him in good stead to serve on the new ZBC board, “the ministry is unable to retain him as a member and chairman of the board given that the allegations he faces at Powertel precisely echo the rot that has bedevilled ZBC”.
“The challenges in parastatals or State enterprises require zero tolerance to corruption in all its manifestations,” Moyo said.
Magaya was unreachable for comment by the time of going to print last night.