Former National Social Security Authority (NSSA) general manager James Matiza yesterday appeared before magistrate Mrs Vongai Muchuchuti-Guwuriro facing charges of fraud and criminal abuse of office as a public officer.
He was granted $500 bail coupled with stringent conditions and remanded to January 18 for trial. Matiza is being represented by Harrisson Nkomo of Mhishi Nkomo Legal Practitioners. It is the State’s case that Matiza allegedly bought a Harare property for $32 million for the authority, a price inflated by over $8 million after concealing a report by Bard Real Estate which priced the building at $24 million.
Other companies such as CB Richard Ellis came up with a gross replacement cost of $24.354 million and a market price of $25.6 million while Green Plan (Pvt) Ltd came up with a market price of $36,5 million. The three reports were supposed to be tabled to the board of adjudication before the agreement of sale was entered into by the seller with the one from Bard Real Estate being the most favourable and it would give NSSA bargaining power but Matiza deliberately concealed it and referred the other two reports which were not cost effective to the board which eventually worked with a higher valuation by Green Plan.
More: Herald
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