SENIOR managers at the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) are
trampling on and changing through the back door the terms and conditions of the
US$400 million recapitalisation deal with South African railway utility
Transnet and the Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group (DIDG) in a bid to
throw spanners in the works to save their jobs and other interests, it has
surfaced.
Various sources from NRZ, Transnet and official circles
said this week after being beset by hurdles from transaction and legal
advisers, the deal is now facing internal obstacles: NRZ top management’s
vested job preservation interests.
Sources said as part of their bid to undermine the project,
NRZ managers, working with transaction and legal advisers, had influenced
Minister of Transport Joel Biggie Matiza into changing the exclusivity clause
following the expiry of the framework agreement in February. The agreement has
been renewed for six months upon which full implementation must start rolling
out on the project now a bilateral matter between South Africa and Zimbabwe
dealt with at ministerial and presidential levels.
Documents seen by the Zimbabwe Independent from local
sources show that the exclusivity provision was removed from the framework
agreement on the advice of law firm Dube, Manikai & Hwacha (DMH), the legal
advisers, and Deloitte & Touche Zimbabwe, transaction advisers, as well as
NRZ managers.
DMH had recommended in their update report on the deal: “It
is, therefore, our opinion that any extension should exclude the exclusivity
undertaking in the expired framework agreement.”
This did not go down well with Transnet and DIDG who still
feel this has created room for interference and sabotage by those who want the
deal to fail to bring in through the back door their preferred NRZ partners.
A Transport ministry official said: “NRZ managers who fear
losing their jobs and want to cut underhand deals are now taking advantage of
the new non-exclusivity clause which they smuggled into the deal following the
expiry of the framework agreement in February. The clause, which allows the NRZ
to deal with other companies, is now being abused to change the deal’s terms
and conditions.”
The Independent understands NRZ managers are now floating
tenders which effectively parcel out various parts of the project to their
preferred companies on terms that violate the original agreement. They are also
recruiting workers, leaving the state rail utility and government exposed to
litigation, sources said.
“What is happening is clearly disruptive. For instance, the
notification given to Transnet by NRZ to start returning their locomotives on
the basis that there is no demand or business for them, while at the same time
floating a tender to lease 12 locomotives and 10 wagons from another company,”
the source told Independent. “The NRZ managers are also said to have signed a
contract with a local company, in which they have interests, to supply
locomotives to NRZ. The local company has apparently roped in the services of a
British rail company to help fulfil the contract.”
A highly-placed government source said NRZ management’s
actions indicate efforts to either comprehensively restructure the deal in
their favour, derail it or sabotage; the same accusations levelled against
transaction and legal advisers.
The situation has created tensions between the NRZ
management and the board, which is supporting the project, sources added.
The NRZ management is also accused of proposing the removal
of the exclusivity clause from the framework agreement without consulting the
DIDG-Transnet consortium, claiming it was Matiza’s proposal.
However, documents sent to Matiza from NRZ management
indicate that the proposal was smuggled in by managers, and not the minister.
Deloitte had initially recommended to the NRZ and Matiza to
amend the exclusivity clause only to allow the NRZ to procure in the short-term
for up to $20 million in agreement with DIDG-Transnet so that it can be easily
assimilated into the final deal, but the managers have been doing more
clandestinely.
The engagement of a local company in a deal to supply
locomotives to the NRZ which, in turn, roped in a British company, has raised
questions around the NRZ’s managers’ seriousness in supporting the
recapitalisation project.
“NRZ owes over R50 million to Transnet for the current
leased fleet,” a Transnet official said. “Yet they are now saying they want to
return some of the locomotives which were part of the interim solution. Nobody
understands their agenda anymore. How do you return locomotives saying they are
not being used, while at the same you are hiring some from else?”
Officials said NRZ risked violating the country’s procurement
regulations which prohibit negotiation with other suitors when a public tender
process is still open.
“It looks like NRZ management is searching for a new deal
through the back door which would see most of the senior executives retain
their jobs and continue to pursue self-interests at the expense of the
government and employees who want to see the deal signed and implemented
urgently,” the source said. “Another indication of NRZ management’s duplicity
and them acting in pursuit of private interests is the recently advertised
recruitment drive for engineers with not less than five years’ experience in
engineering in a railway operations environment.”
As part of the deal, NRZ has already taken delivery of 13
locomotives, 200 wagons and 34 coaches leased from Transnet under the
recapitalisation framework.
Efforts to get comment from Matiza and NRZ were
unsuccessful last night. Zimbabwe Independent
0 comments:
Post a Comment