eBusiness Weekly
Enacy Mapakame
Businessman and former banker, Nicholas Vingirai, has been booted out of the Mashonaland Holdings Limited board of directors, as shareholders continue battling for control of the listed property company and ZB Financial Holdings.
Vingirai and his proxies, accounting for 19 percent shareholding, were fired from the board of directors at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Harare yesterday.
Standard Chartered Bank chief executive Ralph Watungwa was re-elected as a director of the board. Watungwa is a Transnational Holdings Limited (THL) nominee
Vingirai, who was absent at the AGM, was last year also kicked out of the board of ZB Financial Holdings.
Vingirai became a ZBFH shareholder through his THL, a controlling shareholder of Intermarket Holdings Limited that was incorporated into the ZB group since 2006.
THL’s Intermarket was incorporated into ZB group after it was bailed out by Government following allegations of externalisation, back then, leveled against THL’s founding shareholders and other directors.
Vingirai, who was at the centre of the alleged financial impropriety, was eventually cleared of misconduct he was accused of in 2012, but had since that time been contesting the takeover and incorporation of his banking group.
At yesterday’s AGM, shareholders did not vote for the embattled businessman and also confirmed dismissal of two other directors earlier this year.
Mashonaland Holdings acting chief executive officer Letwin Mawire indicated the earlier sacking of the firm’s top management had improved administration expenses to income ratio now at 21 percent for the four months to January 2018, compared to 31 percent from the same period last year, and 28 percent for the full financial year 2017.
Administration expenses were $350 281, which was 32 percent below prior year and budget.
“The improvement in ratio was mainly due to lower staff related costs arising from the suspension without benefits and subsequent dismissal of top management,” said Mawire.
