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The former Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nyasha Chizu has been buried at Warren Hills Cemetery in the capital city of Harare.Chizu was Buried yesterday afternoon following his recent untimely death over the weekend.
According to a reliable source from the family, Chizu died whilst on his way to the hospital. Speaking to TechnoMag, the source Said,
“We buried him at Warren hills today (yesterday) at 1pm , he was pronounced dead at Surbian hospital warrenpark , after a short stomach ache”
She added that Chizu died, “Sat around 12 midday.”
The former PRAZ boss was such a darling in the private sector who recieved numerous awards including CEO of the Year in 2018 and Manager of the Year awards in 2019 by Megafest.
Chizu was also credited for professionalizing the authority.As CEO, he won national praise for ushering in an era of transparency at Praz.
Praz partnered Transparency International Zimbabwe to fight corruption in public procurement processes under the able leadership of Chizu.
Praz was established as a successor body to the State Procurement Board, through the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act in 2018.
Praz however began hunting for his replacement chief executive officer (CEO) following Chizu’s departure in January 2021 though contacted for comment in February 2021, the Praz chairperson Vimbai Nyemba confirmed that whilst had left, he had not been fired.
“He was not fired,” Nyemba told the Media.
“We just terminated his contract in line with our constitution which allows us to do so,” she said, noting that the Praz boss left after a “unanimous” board decision to terminate his contract.
She could not be drawn into explaining why he left if there were no concerns around his performance or conduct.
“We are allowed by the law to do that,” Nyemba said.
Critics nevertheless believe the harsh treatment Chizu recieved at the hands of his former Employer PRAZ contributed to his untimely death after Praz sent him to court to bring every asset from his former Employer including most recently the last property he was hanging onto since 2018, a mercedes ML.This followed tauntings by praZ when the High Court trashed an application by the former Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) chief executive officer (CEO), challenging his dismissal.
Justice Owen Tagu, the High Court Judge who heard the matter dismissed his application with costs for lacking merit.
This is despite Chizu’s impeccable record having been employed by PRAZ in 2012 and deservedly rising through the ranks to become the regulator’s CEO in August 2018.
The ides of March following the havoc of Covid-19 in March 2020, would wreak havoc when on July 7, 2020, he was put on a forced 30-day leave.
PRAZ toyed with their former boss as this was repeated on two different occasions before he was fired on October 23 of the same year.
The former CEO then sued his former employer, also citing the public service minister, Paul Mavima and Attorney General, Prince Machaya, as respondents complaining that he was unconstitutionally dismissed and wanted the termination to be declared null and void.
Judge Tagu ruled that his arguments had no merit.
“The gist of the applicant is that he was not given the chance to make an address before he was dismissed.
“If that is so, he should have cited the Administrative Justice Act. That is where this cause of action lies.
“I therefore uphold the first respondent’s (PRAZ) first point in limine (as a preliminary matter).
“The first respondent’s right to have terminated the applicant’s contract of employment on notice was created by common law and not by statute. The Labour Act simply regulated the existence of common law right, otherwise conferred on the first respondent by common law.”
“I agree with the first respondent that the practical import of the applicant’s failure to do so, is that the relief sought is incompetent and ineffective as it does not strike at the source of the alleged unconstitutional infringement.
“I will therefore uphold the first respondent’s third point in limine,” said the judge.
Such issues are deemed to have affected his well-being which some experts purport may have stressed him to the grave.
Reports suggested then that Chizu was given a golden handshake by the authority after being sent on forced leave the previous year 2020 before his January 2021 departure.
Chizu went on leave a day after he told Parliament’s Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development that some entities had not complied with procurement guidelines issued by the authority in March 2020 when the Covid 19 pandemic was declared a national Disaster.
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