Misappropriation & Mismanagement: The Contagion Effects on the Leaders of Tomorrow

September 16, 2009 - The Zimbabwe Herald published a story yesterday (September 15, 2009) under the headline 'ZIYON Boss In Court'. Having been dropped into my inbox by our Executive Secretary it didn’t make pleasant reading. I believe for the benefit of CIYDA members and those that passionately follow our endeavours I thought it best to place this story here and make a commentary about it as it hit home the challenges that not only CIYDA faces but many other youth organisations in Zimbabwe.

ZIMBABWE Youth Network boss, Danny Fletcher Kajokoto, appeared at the Harare magistrate court last Friday facing allegations of defrauding the non-governmental organisation of US$4 000 meant for rentals and website development.

Kajokoto (25) was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Munamato Mutevedzi, who remanded him out of custody to September 25 on US$50 bail. Outlining the State’s case, prosecutor Miss Stancy Makuyana alleged that in March this year, Kajokoto mooted a plan to defraud Deutscher Entwiecklung Dienst (DED) of funds.

He allegedly requested funds for ZIYON website development and presented a quotation for the development with the amount of US$1 500 that he said was from Web Solutions, a website design company.

He received the US$1 500, which he allegedly converted to his own use. On the second count, it is alleged that on July 1 this year Kajokoto received US$2 500 from DED, meant for office rentals from August to December this year, instead of paying rent he allegedly converted the cash into his own use. — HR (www.herald.co.zw)

CIYDA Says: Firstly I would like to say until the case has run its course in the Zimbabwean courts CIYDA will not condemn the accused individual or the organisation which he represents, after all a one is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. However the issue in question is one we can discuss in our plight to rid our country of such incidences ever happening.

Having come from a family background that consisted of individuals that strived to work towards making other people’s lives better some point out how perhaps the ideas I am driving through CIYDA were inevitable in one form or another. The most notable member of my family from whom I learnt from being my beloved aunt, Ms Esnit Mapondera (Zimbabwe Women’s Finance Trust) a fellow of Ashoka a world renowned organisation in the advancement of social entrepreneurs, and winner of the Desmond Tutu award in her advocacy for women’s causes in Zimbabwe and Africa. For me it is an honour to naturally inherit such a positive trait from within the family and the desire to be at the forefront of youth development in Zimbabwe. However it has gone beyond that through the extension in having the ability to identify and getting onboard equally committed individuals in the form of the CIYDA team and other associates of CIYDA to make our project a reality, and to whom I pay homage to.

Perhaps you're asking yourself why I am making a point of this, well the group of individuals highlighted above namely, the CIYDA team, CIYDA associates and the likes of Ms Mapondera would undoubtedly strongly condemn the use of public office and institutions as well as exploiting people’s needs as a route to a loaf of bread. I recall 6 years ago when I was fortunate enough to be in the presence of a knowledgeable prominent public figure at his home. We were discussing his work and my own passions. He said, “Real people do not go into public office or public institutions because they were fortunate enough to undertake studies in that particular field of work...real people go into public office because they want to serve a need for the benefit of their fellow country man and women”. He went on to highlight the problem that was prevalent in public institutions of mismanagement because people feel they have the right to plunder at will due to their position. It was a shame as I realised that he felt passionately about this and I am sure with enough people like him behind him Zimbabwe as a country would have turned a corner in this aspect and such cases as the one reported above would have been a thing of the past.

The case of ZIYON above further highlights the need to continue working to tackle this problem from a grass roots level and instil in young people the knowledge on organisational/corporate governance as part of their curriculum. Put it to them how self destructive paths not only distorts the fabric of their own development as an individual but it also drags the country’s collective efforts backwards and undoes so much work that others are working hard to achieve for the development of young people. This case although not in any way connected to CIYDA undoubtedly paints with the same brush all the up and coming youth organisations working hard to make the lives of their fellow youths that little bit better and bring their developmental plight on the door steps of relevant authorities. It further serves to give would be cynics both internal and externally ammunition when they take their usual, ‘we told you so...’ stance something we can’t let happen because of a few misinformed bad apples within our midst.

Although the habit of unusually stepping out to condemn mismanagement and misappropriation following news articles is not expressly carved into our objectives, it would be irresponsible of CIYDA not to mention it in line with our own services areas, namely, Business Start-up, Social & Cultural Integration, Mentorship and Volunteering. It is undeniable that for all these services to be successful in the long run a robust approach to organisational governance has to be attached to them as well as educating our colleagues be it at ZIYON or in educational institutions on its importance.

CIYDA will continue to reach out to the vast Zimbabwean youths, who are undoubtedly in the majority who want to see a well rounded populace of young people in Zimbabwe. These are the young people who continue to defy the seemingly infamous unwritten code and want to see a better country where youths are at the forefront development and not mismanagement and misappropriation.

Disclaimer: - Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein from other websites, CIYDA cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Unless otherwise indicated, opinions transferred from other websites and expressed herein are those of the author of the ORIGINAL article and do not necessarily represent the views of CIYDA, CIYDA Executive Director, CIYDA Team or CIYDA Associates.

For the purpose of this blog post CIYDA would like to put it on record that as an organisation it has not received any funds directly or indirectly from any national or international nongovernmental organisation to date. Any funds received will be rightfully declared to our members for the purpose of our continued commitment to transparency.

What is CIYDA
Contemporary Indigenous Youth Development Africa (CIYDA) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2008 and is based in Harare, Zimbabwe. CIYDA is working to develop and empower the youths of Zimbabwe for the benefits of the nation and Africa as a continent through the use of new media, information technology and networking amongst other things. Through these drivers, CIYDA aims to facilitate an information hub and service provision in the areas of Business Start-up, Social & Cultural Integration, Socio-economic Mentoring and Volunteering. CIYDA currently has a network connection of over 500 Zimbabwean youths in many countries amongst them, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia and Canada.