Thursday 11 July 2024

FOUR NABBED OVER US$9M COUNCIL TENDER

Four Harare City Council officials have been arrested over a street lights tender worth US$9 million.

The tender was awarded to Juluka Enndo Joint Venture, a company owned by businessman Moses Mpofu, without following proper procedures.

The Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission arrested Never Murerwa (62) and Jabulani Mukomazi (44), who work in the city’s Procurement Management Unit, principal accountant Denford Zhungu (69) and engineering technician Tawanda Mutenhabundo (29). 

It is alleged that sometime in January this year, the City of Harare embarked on a rehabilitation of street lights along Harare roads in preparation for the SADC Summit to be held next month in the capital city.

The Herald reports that on January 29, the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) granted a few specific exemptions to facilitate the expeditious completion of projects in time for the SADC Summit.

It emerged that on April 19, an evaluation committee, which included Mukomazi, Zhungu and Mutenhabundo, sat and awarded Syvern Investments, Exodus and Company, Ship Tracks and Onel Engineering the tender to rehabilitate eight of the 10 lots of street lights. Due to lot limitation no company was awarded more than two lots.

According to investigations, Juluka Enndo Joint Venture was disqualified after failing to meet the tender requirements.

However, the four accused, working in connivance, proceeded to unprocedurally award the tender of the remaining lots to Juluka Enndo Joint Venture, disregarding the dictates of the general procurement provisions, which require the procurement to be done through a competitive bidding process.

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