Three senior officials at Mpilo suspended

THREE senior officials implicated in a tender scam that has reportedly resulted in Mpilo Central Hospital losing millions of dollars have been suspended, Chronicle reported.

A fourth official who was not named but is suspected to be finance director Charles Govo, could not be suspended as he was not available to be served with his suspension letter.

The chairperson of the hospital's board, Sichelesile Moyo-Ncube yesterday announced that the chief executive officer Dr Lawrence Mantiziba, operations director Duduza Regina Moyo and chairperson of the central buying unit Mxolisi Sibanda had been suspended without pay for three months.

She said an extensive audit is set to be carried out at one of the largest referral hospitals in the country during the period.

The Health Services Board (HSB) is set to decide the fate of the officials after the audit.

The trio was immediately escorted by security personnel off the hospital premises.

Moyo-Ncube said Ingutsheni chief executive officer Leonard Mabhandi will run Mpilo Central hospital during the three months of investigations.

She said the Procurement and Tender Committee and the Central Buying Unit had been disbanded with immediate effect.

The committee was described as clueless in an audit report and is said to have stood by while officials plundered hospital resources.

Moyo Ncube said the board was seized with the issue of ensuring there was no vacuum following the suspension of the top officials.

Mantiziba is being charged with failing to put up structures to prevent fraud at the institution.

Operations director Duduza Regina Moyo allegedly influenced tender procedures to prejudice the hospital of millions of dollars while Sibanda allegedly assisted her.

Allegations against finance director Charles Govo are that he ignored State Procurement Board requirements and paid suppliers who did not have Tax Clearances and company registration.

The board chairperson applauded health Minister David Parirenyatwa and the Health Services Board for reacting swiftly to a damning audit report and endorsing the board's decision to suspend officials fingered in the scam.

"Transparency and accountability are very important when we look at such issues, especially when we're looking at a hospital of this size, which services our region. When action of this nature is taken, I 'm sure everyone is assured the matter is being attended to," said Moyo Ncube.

She said the board had ensured that hospital records were put under lock and key at the conclusion of the first audit that was carried out by PNA Chartered Accountants in February so that they are not tampered with.

Commenting on the prejudice suffered by the hospital, Moyo Ncube said: "At this stage all I can say is we're talking about millions of dollars. The outcome (of the audit) was really bad. That's what really raised the alarm. I suppose when the health board read the report, together with the minister, they concurred that it couldn't be ignored."

"It's the feeling of this board that we really need to look further as this could be the tip of the iceberg. If PNA could unearth this much in such a short time, we have no reason to doubt that more is involved."

Hospital board member Siqokoqela Mphoko, who led the operations committee, said hospital officials were allocating themselves 600 litres of fuel each per month.

He said his committee and others unravelled gross misconduct that laid the foundation for more investigations.

Dr Parirenyatwa told journalists last week that recommendations from board members had helped him come up with an appropriate but tough decision on some members of the management.

"I've come here because of the various things that are alleged to have happened, terrible things, and I'm looking at the good name of this hospital. I'm looking at the welfare of the people of Matabeleland and the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe," he said.

Chronicle lifted the lid off the alleged corruption in February, when a $3 million tender, which had been awarded to Bulawayo Businessman Ashton Mpofu's New Planet Company, was cancelled after Mpofu allegedly refused to bribe Mantiziba and Moyo.

Moyo alleged Mpofu threatened to harm her, following the cancellation and requested a bodyguard.

The tender- according to the audit report- had been illegally and unnecessarily split into smaller tenders.

The auditors said if the contract had been given to one company, it would have cost approximately $1,049 million.

After being split up, it ended up costing more than $2 million.

"This could have been avoided had the operations director and her team performed due diligence checks on suppliers to ensure they have the necessary capacity to supply goods and services," read the report.

"There are indications that the operations director is colluding with suppliers as some information on tenders seems to be availed to certain suppliers only."

Mpofu was awarded the tender to refurbish the hospital's radiotherapy centre towards the end of 2012.

The scope of the tender ranged from providing new equipment, to re-tiling the floors and painting the walls.

The cancer unit was closed for the duration of the project, forcing cancer patients in the southern region to travel to Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare for treatment.

The southern region covers Bulawayo, Masvingo, Midlands, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South.

The project was supposed to be completed in September 2013.

The deadline has been moved at least three times with the latest being February this year.