DODGY businessman Wicknell Chivayo’s Intratrek is unlikely
to get the outstanding US$167 million for its controversial solar project after
receiving US$5 million as part payment as pressure mounts from parliament and
the power utility Zesa for President Emmerson Mnangaga to cancel his corrupt
deals, Zimbabwe Independent has learnt.
This week Zesa chief executive Josh Chifamba told a
parliamentary portfolio committee on mines and energy that the power utility
has begun terminating the multi-million dollar contract after Intratrek failed
to execute the project within agreed timelines despite being given the
resources to do so. It is now three years since the company was awarded the
contract.
This followed committee chairperson Themba Mliswa’s queries
to Chifamba why the power utility had not terminated the contract when no
progress had been made on the solar project behind.
The Gwanda contract was among several power projects
awarded to the firm between 2015 and 2016, including the US$73 million
refurbishment of Harare power station; a US$163 million project to upgrade
Munyati thermal power station and a US$128 million hydropower station in
Gairezi.
Information gathered by the Independent – which has been
dogged exposing the corrupt Zesa deals for several years now – shows that
between April 2015 and July 2016, the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), a unit of
Zesa paid Intratrek a total of US$5 644 130,80 for design and feasibility study
as well as for procurement activities for the project which has literally
failed to take off years on. The contract balance stood at US$167 224 466,80.
Earlier on this year the committee visited the project site
– the Independent that much earlier – and discovered that no meaningful work
had been carried out.
The amount was paid in tranches spread during the same
period via ZPC bankers, Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe.
In July 2016, ZPC wrote to CBZ instructing them to transfer
US$40 947,95 in favour of Zimra being payment for withholding tax on Intratrek.
Also contrary to reports that Chivayo was paying rentals
for the land which was set aside for the solar projects, documents seen by this
paper show that it is ZPC who bought the land which has since been idle.
“Could you please transfer USD$15 640 in favour of Ministry
of Lands Holding Fund being payment for annual rentals for Lot 2 of Judds farm,
Gwanda,” reads a letter dated September 27, 2017.
Also to demonstrate that Intratrek had no experience in
implementing such projects, ZPC, in October 2017, paid firm called Parsons
Brinkerhoff Africa ZAR433 200 for engineering consultancy for the 100MW Gwanda
solar project. During the same month ZPC also paid Salwire Manufacturers US$65
921,74 for the supply and installation of high security perimeter fence at the
Gwanda project.
The power was also made payments to another company
contracted to carry out geotechnical surveys for the project last December
despite public outcry over the solar project.
Just last month, the Office of the President and Cabinet
left Chivayo stranded after they denied that they had bypassed procurement
regulations in the awarding of the 100 MW solar project tender to the firm.
Also last month then Procurement Regulatory Authority of
Zimbabwe acting chief executive Nyasha Chizu said the engagement of Chivayo by
former executive chairperson the late Charles Kuwaza, especially after the
company had lost the bid to a Chinese firm, was illegal.
“That negotiation in terms of the law was an illegal
process because Section 31(1) of the Act does not allow negotiations of a
submitted bids and the late former executive chairman admitted that there was
that need and he justified by saying it was because power was a critical
requirement in the country. So the negotiation that was allowed, in my opinion,
has frustrated the award that was made to China Jiangxi,” Chizu told the Mines
and Energy parliamentary committee. Zimbabwe independent
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