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Harare Bureau
Midlands State University is up in arms with 347 lecturers and staff members after the institution withheld their monthly contributions amounting to $105,000 it was supposed to channel towards the purchase of residential stands. The lecturers are now on the verge of losing their stands. The employees were beneficiaries of Hertfordshire and Woodlands housing schemes and the MSU allegedly garnished $100 from the 347 workers’ salaries for three months which were supposed to be remitted to River Valley Properties for the servicing of the stands.

River Valley Properties has since filed a police report after efforts to recover the money were fruitless.
The MSU faces theft charges and contravening Section 113 (2) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9.23 under case number CR181/8/14.

MSU Registrar Erasmus Mupfiga confirmed that MSU withheld money which was supposed to be remitted to River Valley Properties.
Mupfiga said the project had attracted negative publicity following an ownership wrangle between the developer and the owner of land.

“The institution withheld $100,365. The beneficiaries are contributing $100 per month. The project had attracted negative publicity relating to the ownership of the land and the property developer was not forthcoming with a proper explanation,” he said.

“Furthermore, beneficiaries wanted clarification from the property developer on the servicing of the stands which was taking rather too long. Unfortunately, the property developer did not turn up to explain some of the questions that were raised by the beneficiaries in spite of the invitations that were sent on three successive occasions which forced the institution to withhold money as a way of compelling the property developer to come forward for a meeting.

“Beneficiaries have been withdrawing on a regular basis, from May 2014 and to date 93 beneficiaries have withdrawn and more are still withdrawing.”
Mupfiga dismissed reports that the MSU was summoned by the police over the matter.

River Valley Properties Director Smelly Dube said the matter was likely to spill into the courts.
“There are 347 MSU staff members who are beneficiaries of the Hertfordshire and Woodlands housing schemes which are being managed by River Valley. We had an agreement with the institution that it would garnish $100 monthly from each of the employees’ salaries and remit to us.

“The institution failed to remit the contributions to us dating back to May this year albeit deducting the money from the employees’ salaries. When we threatened to withdraw their employees from the scheme that is when we learnt that the workers had been contributing but the institution had not been remitting the money,” she said.

Efforts to get a comment from Midlands police were fruitless.