SOME members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) who provided security during the July 31 harmonised elections have not received their allowances although the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has reportedly remitted the allowances to the ZRP.
REPORT BY NUNURAI JENA/WONAI MASVINGISE
The disgruntled officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, complained their allowances had been withheld by their employer under unclear circumstances.
They said they had it on good authority that Zec had remitted the allowances to the ZRP, but the money did not filter down to the officers on the ground.
“I did not get a cent for the nine days I worked during the harmonised elections, but some members of the Special Constabulary were given first preference although they were not paid all their allowances” said an officer based at Chinhoyi Police Station.
Contacted for comment, police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba confirmed the development yesterday saying the ZRP had withheld some of the allowances after receiving reports that some of the officers had not reported at their assigned workstations during the election period.
“Most of them (police officers) did not go to where they had been deployed. We had paying teams on the ground who were paying those who were on duty,” said Charamba.
“Some who were deployed did not go and some were not found where they were supposed to be. In Harare, for example, some were deployed outside of Harare and they decided not to go where they had been deployed. Maybe there could be some genuine cases, but if these are genuine cases, they know where to report. They should not report to newspapers.”
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Zec finance director Stephen Goneso said: “We paid those we directly engaged first before they escorted paying officers. We have also disbursed the allowances for those who came through the police.”
The police officers yesterday claimed they were each entitled to a daily $40 allowance.
This comes amid reports that some disgruntled police officers had besieged Zec offices in Makonde district, Mashonaland West, demanding their allowances.
