The Information Media Panel of Inquiry (Impi) is embroiled in a tussle with its panelists over mobile phones and iPads, the former distributed to them as the latter were refusing to return the gadgets until they were paid their outstanding allowances, it has emerged.
BY PAIDAMOYO MUZULU
Panelists were still owed varying amounts running into thousands of dollars each. According to insiders, each of the 24 panellists was entitled to a $300 daily allowance when they were on Impi business. Insiders confirmed that Impi chairman Geoff Nyarota wrote a letter to panellists this week ordering them to return the Samsung smartphones and iPads that were issued to each member just before the national outreach programme, which also saw the team visiting other countries.
“The Impi chairman wrote to panelists asking us to surrender the phones and iPads we were issued with when the project started. However, some of us have also asked the organisation to settle our outstanding allowances,” an insider said.
“Panellists did not receive their allowances during the travels to regional countries as we were promised we would get them in due course.”
Impi went to Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and South Africa during its inquiry to study how the media in those countries were operating and their challenges.
Impi was wholly funded by the Information, Media and Broadcasting Services ministry which commissioned the inquiry into the operations and conditions of the media industry in the country. The project was initially planned to last only four months up to July 2014, but only ended last week when Impi presented the inquiry report to Information minister Jonathan Moyo.
