Zimbabwe: AirZim Breaks Silence On Scam
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Financial Gazette (Harare)
7 August 2008
Posted to the web 8 August 2008
Shame Makoshori
Harare
AIR Zimbabwe (Air-Zim) broke its silence this week on a chartered flight scam unearthed by its auditors this year, saying those caught on the wrong side of the law will face the due processes of the law.
Pride Khumbula, the airline's spokesperson, told The Financial Gazette this week that AirZim will move to take corrective measures once the investigations have been concluded.
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The probe was triggered by revelations that the national passenger carrier could have been prejudiced of US$22 000 or more after some of its senior officials connived to massage flight details in 2006.
It now appears that the investigations have been widened to cover other flights as Peter Chikumba and his team dig deeper to get to the bottom of the scam.
Chikumba, according to sources at AirZim, has adopted zero-tolerance to crime ever since he took over the reins at the airline as chief executive officer last year.
"We wish to assert that the company will take the appropriate action against any employee whose conduct is proved to have prejudiced the company," Khumbula said.
"We are unable to divulge information on this matter as this may prejudice the investigations, which are currently underway," she said.
According to information gathered by The Financial Gazette, some senior managers at AirZim connived with Birds Breeding Farm of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2006 to prejudice the airline of US$22 000 on a chartered flight to Kinshasa, the DRC capital.
The fraudulent officials lied to the DRC government that President Robert Mugabe was the one using the flight after attempts to secure international clearances was denied in that country because AirZim had not given the prescribed 72 hours lead time.
The Financial Gazette has documents detailing how on May 18 2006 the officials deliberately und-ercharged flight UMCHT 505 hired by Birds Breeding Farm.
The audit revealed that the Advice of Charter was fraudulently written as the series of numbers is reserved for the Chinese made MA60s.
A quotation to charter a B737 from Harare to Kinshasa and back was given as US$41 920 then but US$22 000 was paid by Birds Breeding Farm because the officials at the airline purported to have used the MA60, which is cheaper, hence the US$21 930 shortfall.
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Investigations have revealed that the purported MA60's mark up was quoted as 15 percent instead of the then prevailing 25 percent.
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