Transport and Infrastructural Development minister Joram
Gumbo is in the eye of a storm after it emerged this week that he ordered the
Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (Caaz) board to approve the awarding of a
28 million euro (US$33,3 million) tender to Indra Sistemas and Homt Espana SA
for the finance, supply and installation of an airspace management system
without going to tender.
Investigations by the Zimbabwe Independent this week show
that Gumbo called a special meeting of the board in August chaired by
Thembinkosi Magwaliba to discuss and seek authority to engage the services of
Indra Sistemas and Homt Espana SA at a cost of 28 million euro, an increase
from 18 million euro (US$21,4 million) in 2013 when the tender was initially
awarded.
There are concerns that the cost of the airspace management
system, which includes radar surveillance equipment, could have been inflated
by 64%.
This comes despite a Supreme Court judgment (number SC
45/16, Civil Appeal number SC 631/14 of January 28 and October 28, 2016) which
saw the cancellation of the tender to Indra Sistemas and the job being remitted
to the State Procurement Board for the invitation of a fresh tender.
The tender was never floated.
Sources familiar with the deal, who preferred anonymity,
say Caaz general manager David Chawota, who reportedly has Gumbo’s backing, had
already sent letters of approval to the ministry without the consent of the
board, something that did not sit well with the board.
Investigations show that on August 9 2017, Gumbo told board
members that he “required” a resolution on Indra, prompting a special board
meeting two days later.
Information at hand shows that the board was also unhappy
with how the Indra deal was handled after Gumbo dealt directly with Caaz
management and then sought the board to rubber stamp the deal. The board,
according to the information, noted that the Indra issue should have been referred
to its finance and business development committee or the corporate strategic
planning and technical committee.
Sources privy to the development say Chawota has been
pushing for the direct engagement of Indra despite a board resolution that the
aviation authority should obtain state security clearance given the nature of
the tender involving the country’s airspace and State Procurement Board
clearances as conditions precedent in the wake of pressure from Gumbo for a
board resolution.
Gumbo, who controversially reinstated Chawota as Caaz
general manager last year despite serious corruption charges that led to the
resignation of board members, was appointed to cabinet two years ago by former
president Robert Mugabe.
The Caaz board had also advocated a multi-product and
source procurement approach to avoid a repeat of the Thales Group United
Kingdom fiasco, which saw the British company stopping supplying spares in the
wake of sanctions against Zimbabwe, a situation that resulted in the current
diminished radar and surveillance capability. Instead, management was said to
be “pursuing parallel process writing and recommending Indra to the Ministry of
Transport and Infrastructural Development”.
“The board cannot do much when the Honourable Minister (Gumbo)
requests management to perform certain tasks. The duty of management was
however to inform the board when this happens. The board noted that the
previous board resolution was not cast in stone, given that the administrative
law provided the powers to amend a resolution,” a document seen by this paper
stated.
But the board did not give in to Gumbo’s demands to approve
the tender, insisting the final authorisation for the procurement should come
from the SPB.
In addition, the board said there was need for a meeting
with Indra Sistemas. It also called for vetting of the process by the Office of
the President and Cabinet to establish the veracity of information and to
ascertain the capacity of the company. Among some of the concerns raised by the
board was a sharp increase of the cost of the tender from 18 million euro to 28
million euro, reflecting a 64% increase in the value of the tender.
“The board also sought clarification on the cost, given
that the first submission had indicated 18 million euro but the current
submission is now costing 27,9 million euro,” read the documents.
Judges Vernanda Ziyambi, Bharat Patel and Chinembiri Bhunu
ruled “the 2nd respondent (Indra) had failed to comply with the mandatory
requirements of tender No. CAAZ/DANTS/1/13 for the supply and installation of
an air Traffic Control Radar Surveillance System.
“Accordingly, the award of the tender for the supply and
installation of an Air Traffic Control Radar Surveillance System to Indra was
set aside.Any contracts entered between the 2nd and 3rd respondents (Caaz)
pursuant to the award of tender No. CAAZ/DANTS/1/13 to the 2nd respondent be
and is hereby declared invalid and is hereby set aside. The certificate issued
in terms of section 44(2) (b) of the Procurement Act [Chapter 22:14] by the 3rd
respondent pursuant to the award of tender No.
CAAZ/DANTS/1/13 to the 2nd respondent be and is hereby set
aside. The matter is hereby remitted to the State Procurement Board for the
invitation of a fresh tender. The 1st (SPB) and 2nd respondents shall pay costs
of this appeal, jointly and severally, the one paying and the other to be
absolved,” the judgement reads.
Investigations show that despite the Supreme Court ruling,
a letter dated November 7 2017 written by an Acting Principal Officer of the
State Procurement Board Samson Mutanhaurwa to the Deputy Chief Secretary to the
President and Cabinet cited “serious funding challenges” as the reason for
resolving to opt for the “direct engagement of Indra Sistemas of Spain for the
Supply, Delivery and Installation of Airspace Management Systems to CAAZ for
Euro 27 900 OOO.”
This is also despite advice from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the military against a sole European purchase after the Thales
Group United Kingdom incident.
“The question one needs to ask is: why are they breaking
all corporate governance practices to appoint this company?” a source close to
the developments said.
Approvals from the state security, OPC, SPB, Ministry of
Finance and other offices have not yet come through, according to
investigations.
Gumbo said all laid down procedures were followed.
“Hapana nyaya apa nekuti (There is no issue because) all
laid down procedures were followed. What happened is that an Italian company
appealed against the Spanish company being awarded the tender and the court
cancelled the tender. The tender has since been re-tendered. This is an attempt
to tarnish me. The cabinet okayed this tender yesterday. It is part of the
100-day plan,” Gumbo said.
He said concerns raised by the board had been addressed.
But people close to the deal say the tender was never re-tendered. Instead, the
SPB last month issued a special request for direct engagement with Indra.
Chawota said he could not comment as he was out of the
country. Zimbabwe Independent
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