The 3,000 hectare GRI, which falls under the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, was established in 1929 and specialises in researching the best breeds of livestock and pastures.
Insiders claim standards at GRI have sharply fallen as senior officials have for more than a decade looted resources and hijacked projects at the institute, particularly laying blame on the Acting Head of Station since 2008, Aeneas Tigere.
Sales unaccounted
Tigere is reportedly selling timber from a eucalyptus plantation worth about $30,000 to tobacco farmers who use it to fire their curing barns, with sources saying the revenue realised from the sale is not being properly accounted for.
Some of the timber, said a worker, is taken away at night, raising questions about transparency.
“When he was confronted by fellow research officers in the board of management, he said he told them to concentrate on their core business of research rather than meddling in financial and operational issues,” said a source.
Disgruntled employees say $10,000 allocated to GRI by Treasury for a poultry project, disappeared mysteriously, while senior employees stand accused of mismanaging beef cattle and dairy projects.
While the poultry project used to produce about 8,000 birds at its height, the figure has reportedly gone down to slightly above 2,000, owing to theft.
“Some senior officials take the poultry heaters, loot feeds, and exchange dead chicks for live ones at the expense of the institution. The matter was reported at the national headquarters but nothing was done,” said a worker.
The institution is reportedly failing to efficiently run other income generating projects that include the rearing of goats and sheep as well as the sale of manure.
Govt report
GRI’s finances, sources said, are in shambles, making it difficult to run the institute. It also emerged that the institution was running debts of over $50 000.
Last year five management members reportedly left GRI in protest.
Tigere declined commenting on the matter and referred questions to his Director at the national office in Harare, Joseph Sikhosana. Sikhosana, however, said when he recently visited GRI no-one brought up the issues of corruption and mismanagement.
“Sometimes people assume that we know what is taking place on the ground and things go unnoticed. However, we have a transparent system that we use to run the research institution. We also rely on government auditors’ reports to unearth such things,” he said.
The Human Resources Director in the Ministry of Agriculture, Simon Masanga, told The Zimbabwean that investigations had been carried out regarding the allegations and a report would be released soon.
“I can confirm that we received those allegations. An investigating team did its job in December last year and we are now waiting for their report before any action or comments can be made,” said Masanga.
Post published in: News