This emerged in Harare at the weekend when Auditor General
Mildred Chiri, pictured, spoke to legislators, where she revealed that she
would be carrying out a thorough national audit into all donated Covid-19 funds
and materials.
It also comes after the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission
(Zacc) interrogated deputy Health and Child Care minister John Mangwiro last
week, pending the finalisation of his corruption allegations docket relating to
a coronavirus tender.
“My office is going to carry out an audit on how the
donated funds (and other materials) were used and we need vehicles to go out to
do this.
“This means that the office of the auditor general must
travel around the country extensively to give assurance to tax payers how their
funds were utilised,” Chiri said.
“According to Section 309 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe,
the functions of the Auditor General are … among other duties … to audit the
accounts, financial systems and financial management of all departments.
“Section 298 of the Constitution provides that public funds
must be expended transparently, prudently, economically and effectively.
“Due to the Covid-19 pandemic’s significant resources in
the form of financial and other donations which have been given to the
government, these need to be properly accounted for, independently verified and
audited,” Chiri added.
This comes as there are suspicions that some bigwigs may
have gotten their hands on the donated Covid-19 materials.
It also comes as President Emmerson Mnangagwa has fired
Cabinet ministers and several other high-ranking government officials after
they were mired in corruption allegations.
Apart from cutting loose those accused of partaking in
graft, Mnangagwa has also vowed to clamp down on both Zanu PF bigwigs and
ordinary citizens suspected to have acquired unexplained wealth.
Meanwhile, and as was first correctly reported by the Daily
News and later confirmed by Zacc, Mangwiro remains under investigation for
allegedly forcing Natpharm to award a US$5,6 million Covid-19 tender to Young
Health Care — a company that was said not to be registered with the Procurement
Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Praz) at the time.
According to a report by Zacc’s compliance and systems
department, it is claimed that Mangwiro arm-twisted Natpharm executives to
award the tender for laboratory equipment, reagents and consumables for Covid-19
to Young Health Care.
It is further alleged that Mangwiro held a meeting with
Natpharm’s tender adjudication team one evening, before allegedly ordering them
to issue a supply order the same night for Covid-19 consumables to the firm.
The company was said not to have been registered with Praz
at the time — which allegedly saw Mangwiro causing the postponement of the
tender to allow the firm to get registered.
However, the tender has since been cancelled after the
intervention of the graft-busting commission.
The Zacc report said Mangwiro allegedly convened a meeting
with the Natpharm adjudication team where he threatened them with dismissal,
after he had queried why the team was refusing to award the tender to Young
Health Care.
The report alleged that Natpharm’s acting managing director
reported that he had received a phone call from Mangwiro instructing him to
convene a meeting with his adjudication team during odd hours, to explain why
the tender was not awarded to the company.
“The deputy minister (Mangwiro) also demanded that a
purchase order be issued that same night.
“The adjudication team were picked up from their homes
around 2200 hours and were interrogated by the deputy minister until the early
hours of the following day.
“The deputy minister threatened the team with dismissal for
failing to award Young Health Care the contracts,” the Zacc report said.
“Procurement process of the tender 04/2020 was marred by
directives from … Mangwiro, resulting in delaying the procurement.
“A letter from the then acting secretary of Health (Gibson)
Mhlanga dated 15 July 2020, instructing Natpharm to make direct procurement of
supplies from Young Health Care … was issued when the company was not
registered with the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.
“This is a violation of provisions of Praz Circular 1 of
2020 which stipulate that only … listed suppliers are sources of Covid-19
supplies,” Zacc said further in the report.
The report added that when Natpharm insisted on competitive
bidding, the tender process was allegedly postponed to allow Young Health Care
to register with Praz.
“This delayed the procurement of Covid-19 materials. The
deputy minister has usurped the authority of the permanent secretary as the
accounting officer,” the report added.
According to Zacc, Mangwiro did not have the powers and
mandate to undertake administrative duties — which were the responsibility of
the permanent secretary.
The report further alleged that Young Health Care inflated
prices and was also paid in advance before it supplied the purchased goods,
after Mangwiro also allegedly directed Natpharm to do so.
This apparently occurred a few months after former Health
and Child Care minister, Obadiah Moyo, had been sacked by Mnangagwa following
his arrest for allegedly awarding a US$60 million tender to Drax International
for the supply of coronavirus drugs and personal protective equipment.
Mnangagwa has declared zero tolerance on graft and has so
far sacked Moyo and former Labour and Social Welfare minister Prisca Mupfumira,
after they were mired in corruption.
In addition, several other high profile individuals have
been arraigned before the courts as Zacc clamps down on corruption.
Former Energy minister in the late former president Robert Mugabe’s Cabinet, Samuel Undenge, is currently serving a jail term after he was recently convicted of corruption.
Also sent to jail was former director of State Residences,
Douglas Tapfuma, who was convicted after corruptly importing vehicles for his
own gain. He was sentenced to an effective four years in prison.
Only last month, Mnangagwa also jettisoned one of his
bodyguards who was implicated in an alleged gold smuggling racket.
Stephen Chenjerai Tserayi, a member of the Close Unit, was
suspended following the recent arrest of the controversial president of the
Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF), Henrietta Rushwaya — who was busted at the
Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport for allegedly attempting to smuggle
6kg of gold to Dubai. Daily News
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