THE NSSA FIGHT SHOWS HOW DEEP CORRUPTION HAS GROWN IN ZIMBABWE

The fight for the top job at the National Social Security Authority is showing how bad things have become in Zimbabwe. NSSA is supposed to protect pensioners. It is worth more than one billion dollars. This money should help old people live a better life. But instead, powerful people are fighting to control it for their own gain. Managers, board members and politicians all want the job so they can use the fund like it belongs to them.

The general manager job at NSSA is very powerful. The person who gets this job controls money, staff, projects and investments. Since July 2022, NSSA has had no permanent general manager. Arthur Manase was suspended for corruption and later left facing many charges. After he left, Dr Charles Shava took over as acting general manager.

Last year, a recruitment company did interviews to pick a new boss. Some people passed and others failed. But many reports came out saying there was cheating, favouritism and interference. Some names were pushed forward and others were removed for no clear reason. One of the people who came out on top was Gilfern Moyo. Another name was Tendai Kapumha. But the NSSA board is now divided. Chairman Emmanuel Fundira wants Moyo. Another official, Allen Choruma, wants Kapumha.

Sources say Fundira wants someone who will support bringing back a failed ten-million-dollar deal with a company called TTCS. This company was paid before to bring a software system but it failed. Now Fundira wants to give them another chance and even start by giving them almost two million dollars in advance. This is very worrying and shows how corruption works behind the scenes.

At the same time, Dr Shava was quietly approved by government leaders. The President, Minister Edgar Moyo and top official Simon Masanga all agreed he should get the job. His appointment letter was written on 1 March 2025. But Fundira has refused to make the appointment official. Instead of following the decision, he is fighting it.

Now Shava is being attacked in newspapers like The Herald. People inside NSSA say Fundira and his friends are the ones pushing these attacks. First, they said Shava had a court case for giving NSSA doctors money without permission. But the case was weak. Then they leaked his salary to the public and said he would earn a lot of money. They wanted people to get angry and blame him while pensioners only get sixty dollars per month. But the real reason is simple. They do not want him in the job because he will stop their plans to loot the fund.

Since 2015, NSSA has changed leaders many times. There is no stability. Every boss is removed or pushed out. This makes it hard to protect pensioners. This leadership fight shows how broken the system is under ZANU PF rule.

This battle is not just about one job. It shows a country where leaders care more about themselves than the people. NSSA should help pensioners, but it has turned into a playground for elites who see public money as their own. Until this system is fixed, nothing will change. Pensioners will suffer while the powerful get richer. We must expose this and keep fighting for real change.