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Senior Reporter

A PROVISIONAL liquidator for the war veterans owned ZEXCOM Foundation Investment Fund Limited has filed an urgent chamber application that permanently bars the firm’s shareholders from collecting rentals from tenants leasing the organisation’s properties.

The company, which was established in 1998 by former freedom fighters, has a membership base of 7,000 and properties in Bulawayo, Harare and Murehwa.

In Harare, the properties owned by ZEXCOM include Equity House, a seven storey building that generates about $13,000 in rentals monthly. It owns another building in Bulawayo and a commercial complex in Murehwa.

ZEXCOM, whose assets are now valued at $2 million, was placed under liquidation in January this year following its collapse due to alleged mismanagement.

Barbra Lunga, the liquidator, is the applicant while Andrew Ndlovu, Jonah Gumo Mawarire, Tongai Samunda and ZEXCOM coordinator Shelter Muchechesi Mpofu were cited as respondents.

In her application filed on Tuesday at the Bulawayo High Court, the liquidator is seeking an order permanently barring the respondents  from attending and collecting rentals at Number 120 Jason Moyo Street in Bulawayo, Murehwa Building in Murehwa and Equity House situated on Stand Number 82 Rezende Street in Harare.

“I’m the Applicant in this matter in my capacity as the provisional liquidator of ZEXCOM (Pvt) Ltd. My duties as provisional liquidator include identifying all the company assets, the debtors and recovering money from them,  identifying creditors of ZEXCOM and compiling reports of my work and submitting them to the Assistant Master of Court. I also convene meetings of the creditors and brief them on progress of liquidation, but however, I’ve encountered challenges in the execution of my duties as respondents are collecting rentals from tenants,” said Lunga.

“They’ve, it would appear, withheld from the tenants the information that the properties are under the charge of a provisional liquidator. I’ve also learnt that the previous provisional liquidator caused one the respondents, Shelter Muchechesi Mpofu to be arrested for the collection of rentals from Number 120 Jason Moyo Street in Bulawayo and to that effect was convicted by the court for fraud involving $18,000 from rentals ,” said the applicant.

Lunga is accusing the respondents of looting money from rentals.

“The behaviour of the respondents is unlawful, in contempt of court and uncalled for. They’re aware of the court order appointing me as the provisional liquidator. They’ve colluded with others in Harare at the High Court where they’ve tried to have me removed as provisional liquidator as per Case Number HC6496/14, which was dismissed by Justice Hungwe on August 19, 2014,” said the applicant.

She also argued that the actions of the respondents resulted in other shareholders being prejudiced of what is due to them.

“It’s clear that I’ve a right to manage the affairs of ZEXCOM (Pvt) Ltd. There’re other shareholders besides the respondents who’re being prejudiced of what is due to them. I therefore seek an order that the respondents are barred from collecting rentals from those premises or from tenants in those premises, directly or indirectly pending the finalisation of the liquidation proceedings,” said Lunga.

The respondents have, through their lawyer Sindiso Mazibisa, filed a Notice of Opposition.

The troubled firm was placed under provisional liquidation after one of the shareholders, Eliphas Kawa, used a court order to place the company on voluntary provisional liquidation in March this year without the consent of other shareholders.

Kawa nominated Lunga of Impact Trust and Executors (Pvt) Ltd, who was once appointed the judiciary manager of ZEXCOM Foundation, as liquidator of the company.

On July 22, 2014 Lunga started writing letters to the tenants of ZEXCOM Foundation Investment Fund Ltd demanding all rentals to be paid to her company.

ZEXCOM has invested in various sectors of the economy to enhance future earnings of war veterans and their dependants. The investments were in the form of properties that included shareholdings in various local companies such as Econet, Telecel, Kingdom Bank and Delta.