Vingirai ousted from ZB board in high-noon showdown with NSSA

The January 2017 dividend payment to THL was, in effect, a duplicate payment which prejudiced other shareholders, NSSA argues.

THL’s position is that it was entitled to the dividend payment as its share transfer deal with government took effect on May 31 2016.

Shareholders at yesterday’s meeting also heard that the board had requested a refund from government but was yet to get a response or admission of liability.

NSSA chief investment officer Herbert Hungwe, who brought with him a lawyer — prominent advocate Thabani Mpofu — to the AGM much to the chagrin of Vingirai, insisted THL should refund the dividend and claim funds from the government.

NSSA is backed by the RBZ in its push for the dividend repayment.

The central bank has issued an order for a refund as well as the appointment of independent non-executive directors and the reconstitution of ZB’s board committees.

“Government should pay THL the amount of the dividend due to them since the two parties are the ones who had an agreement,” Hungwe told the AGM as temperatures rose at the tense meeting.

Vingirai, who warned of legal consequences if the dividend payment was reversed, vehemently disagreed.

“As far as THL is concerned, once the agreement was reached between the government and THL, the company began to implement that agreement even before THL became the shareholder in the sense of the shares being transferred,” Vingirai said.

The meeting also saw shareholders turn down a claim by THL for an additional 6.21 percent stake in ZB, which Vingirai’s outfit says it was eligible to get from an  optional offer of ZB which was made to Intermarket Holdings’ minority shareholders at a time when THL then held 15.61 percent of issued share capital of Intermarket in 2007.

The net effect of the issue of an additional 6.21 percent shares to THL would be a dilution of 5.8 percent of the existing ZBFH shareholders.

Away from the shareholder strife, ZB chief executive, Ron Mutandagayi revealed that the bank’s pre-profit increased by 195 percent in the four months to April, compared to the same period last year.

Net interest income was 66 percent above prior year due to earnings from treasury bills and loan recoveries.

“Loan recoveries from the Zimbabwe Asset Management Company Limited (ZAMCO) to 30 April 2017 totalled $2.3 million. This brings the group’s recoveries from ZAMCO since its inception to a total of $22.7 million,” said Mutandagayi.

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