MAKUVIRE and Matema Advisory have given the Public Accountants and Auditors Board (PAAB) a two-day deadline to retract its recent statements, which they claim falsely cleared two officials of bribery allegations.
Makuvire and Matema, representing the yet-to-be-registered audit firm Makuvire and Matema Advisory, approached the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) last month, accusing PAAB secretary Admire Ndurunduru and acting deputy secretary Donald Mangenje of abuse of office and allegedly soliciting for a bribe.
The two PAAB officials are alleged to have demanded US$15 000 from Matema and Makuvire in order to register their audit firm.
They have denied the accusations.
In a letter dated May 21, 2024, Matema and Makuvire, through their lawyers Mudimu Law Chambers, instructed PAAB chairman Valentine Mushayakarara to retract the statement.
“We urge you to advise the board to uphold its statutory obligations under the PAAB Act [Chapter 27:12]. This entails maintaining independence from executive influence and discharging its duties with the utmost regard for transparency and accountability,” the letter read in part.
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“In addition to the foregoing, we hereby demand that the board chair retracts, within 48 hours of receipt of this letter, the demonstrably false statements disseminated via media outlets on April 12, 2024 (Independent), April 14, 2024 (The Standard), and April 18, 2024 (The Herald).”
It added: “We bring to your attention the ongoing and demonstrably quantifiable commercial harm our clients continue to suffer as a direct consequence of your clients’ persistent conflationary conduct regarding this matter.
“As meticulously outlined in our prior correspondence dated January 31, 2024, this conduct has resulted in a demonstrable decline in our clients’ business and revenues, as evidenced by their strategic budgets.
“Should this conduct persist, the lawyers said they would be compelled to explore all available legal avenues to seek redress for the demonstrably quantifiable financial losses they have incurred.
“This may include, but is not limited to, the initiation of formal litigation to recover all damages sustained,” they said.
The lawyers said PAAB’s inaction since receiving the complaint, coupled with allegations of inconsistent application of the PAAB Act regarding firm registrations and renewals, raises serious concerns about the board's compliance with the principles of good corporate governance.
These principles encompass fairness, integrity, transparency, professionalism, and accountability.
“Additionally, the board chair’s subsequent issuance of demonstrably false media statements further erodes the board’s credibility and gives rise to a well-founded suspicion that the entire board may be complicit in the alleged bribery and abuse of office,” the lawyers said.
“Moreover, the board’s efforts to improperly influence our clients’ professional standing through ex parte communications with the Institute of Chartered Accountants Zimbabwe and their former employer Daniels & Richards raise concerns about potential subornation of perjury and attempts to stifle legitimate complaints.
“These actions leave our clients with no recourse but to contemplate the potential for the board’s collective culpability in the alleged criminal conduct.”
Should the PAAB persist in linking the registration process to the ongoing Zacc investigation and/or associated media reports, the lawyers said they will be compelled to interpret this as tacit complicity in the alleged wrongdoing.
“This may necessitate an amendment of the Zacc report to include all board members as potential accomplices to the alleged crimes.”
Mushayakarara yesterday told NewsDay Business that he had not seen the letter from Makuvire and Matema Advisory.