Investigations Editor
Government has suspended a Commissioner with the Road Motor Transport (RMT) over allegations of abuse of office, The Harare Post can reveal.
A contact within the RMT, a department in the Ministry of Transport of Transport and Infrastructural Development revealed that Commissioner Joyce Mathema together with three officers within the department, were suspended for three months with effect from 15 July 2021.
The other three are Norwell Bagidi, an Administrative officer who has since resigned, Navison Manyere and Justine Howere who are both clerks in the RMT department.
Mathema is alleged to have processed an Operator’s Licence for a trucking company, which submitted a fake garage report. It is alleged that the four received documents for the processing of an Operator’s Licence for a trucking company, which had a fake Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) stamp.
Upon realising the discrepancies on the garage report, Mathema, the contact said, returned the report to the applicant and requested for a genuine one. The contact said Mathema was supposed to have reported the case to her seniors.
“The same garage report was then resubmitted and it was processed this time. Obviously money had exchanged hands. The garage report did not originate from VID as it was not entered into the Zimbabwe Transport Integrated System (ZimTIS), which is being used by RMT for the processing Operator’s Licence, Route Authority and Cross Border Permits,” said the contact.
He added that “The ZimTIS system was operationalized for use in the RMT Department last month. This entails that operationally, information from CVR (Central Vehicle Registry) and VID can be accessed electronically by RMT when issuing licences and permits.”
The contact said an Inter-ministerial Committee was set up to conduct investigations on the matter. He said a report on the findings was expected by Monday next week.
The New Dispensation has been dealing sternly with the vice of corruption, which President Mnangagwa said was corrosive. Some senior Government officials have been gaoled for corruption and prime example is former State Resident Principal Director, Douglas Tapfuma who was incarcerated for criminal abuse of office. Former cabinet ministers, Dr Obadiah Moyo and Priscah Mupfumira were also fired for engaging in corruption.
