Opinion / Columnist
Time to walk the talk on corruption
20 Jun 2016 at 15:19hrs | Views
A story published in The Sunday Mail titled Tough times for Hwange, is not only heart-rending but reeks of corruption in the US$32 million Hwange Colliery Company deal.
The story chronicles how Hwange was brought to a standstill due to a corrupt procurement process that resulted in the supply of massively sub-standard equipment from a company called BELAZ.
On 19 June last year, Government commissioned equipment worth US$32 million for the rehabilitation and resuscitation of operations at Hwange Colliery.
However, instead of breathing life into the company, the equipment is reported to have paralysed operations at the company as it broke down barely a year after being commissioned.
It is a discernibly not a mystery that equipment worth US$32 million could disintegrate within a year.
Maybe a rundown of the current state of the patently sub-standard equipment would suffice to highlight the gravity of the malfeasance behind the Hwange deal.
The Sunday Mail reported that of the 10 dump trucks that were commissioned, only three are working. Of the two heavy duty excavators commissioned none is working. Of the six wheel dozers officially handed over, only one is working and all the four tract dozers are not working.
Of all the heavy machinery acquired for Hwange Colliery only three drills are said to be working.
What could easily be deduced from the breakdown is that almost 99 percent of the commissioned equipment is now piled in the dump yard.
Mathematically, this translates to dumping staggering US$31 million within a year.
For a country in financial doldrums like ours, that is a luxury that we can ill-afford.
It is unheard of in the history of corporate governance that equipment worth $32 million would malfunction within a year without any head being placed on the chopping board.
It is unforgivable that the US$32 million that was definitely squeezed from the hard-pressed and struggling citizens could be misappropriated in such a manner, only to fill the bottomless pockets of some heartless public officials.
This is just a tip of the corruption iceberg saddling the economy.
This is but one of the many cases of malfeasance that are crippling this country but remain unchecked.
We have a similar case at Mnene Mission Hospital in Mberengwa, where a dubious supplier was in 2011 awarded a tender to supply medical equipment after the hospital received a US$700 000 from Government's Targeted Approach Programme.
From the proceeds, a supermarket named Food Miles was unprocedurally awarded a US$180 000 tender in 2011 and received an advance of payment of US$100 000 for renovations and the supply of a ceiling mounted X-ray machine.
The equipment was supposed to be supplied in six months.
Investigations by the Parliamentary Portfolio on Health and Child Care, however, revealed that after procrastinating for over two and half years, Food Miles eventually supplied a cheaper and sub-standard floor-mounted X-ray machine.
The equipment broke down after being used for a day.
The investigations also established that although Food Miles' contract period had expired, it had only managed to do renovations worth US$57 895 from the US$100 000 advanced to it, which means it could had prejudiced Government of US$42 105.
Reports also indicate that officials at Mnenen hospital conducted business through un-procedural tenders, inflating prices for various medical equipment and other jobs at the referral hospital.
Once again, Government was nicodimously fleeced of tens of thousands of the hard-to-get taxpayers' money through acts of corruption.
It saddening that all this malfeasance with hard hit the same taxpayers as in the case of Hwange, the company will be unable to produce adequate coal supplies to support the production of thermal electricity or to boost operations of the country's beleaguered industries.
This will definitely lead to power and commodity supply challenges that would further pummel the already vulnerable taxpayer.
In the case of Mnene hospital, investigators established that after the one-day X-ray broke down, the disadvantaged rural patients are now being referred to distant towns of Zvishavane, Gweru and Bulawayo for X-rays.
This is callous and unacceptable.
Corruption is definitely eroding infrastructural development in the country and would continue to waste meager resources in the country.
Responsible authorities should not allow a few greedy individuals to pounce and suck the nation dry without bringing them to book.
Government should be jostled by such sad reports and activate its security and justice structures to apprehend the culprits and bring them to justice.
No more should Government offer hollow threats to corrupt officials. It's time to walk the talk.
-------------
Gwinyai Mutongi <gwinz.mutongi@gmail.com
The story chronicles how Hwange was brought to a standstill due to a corrupt procurement process that resulted in the supply of massively sub-standard equipment from a company called BELAZ.
On 19 June last year, Government commissioned equipment worth US$32 million for the rehabilitation and resuscitation of operations at Hwange Colliery.
However, instead of breathing life into the company, the equipment is reported to have paralysed operations at the company as it broke down barely a year after being commissioned.
It is a discernibly not a mystery that equipment worth US$32 million could disintegrate within a year.
Maybe a rundown of the current state of the patently sub-standard equipment would suffice to highlight the gravity of the malfeasance behind the Hwange deal.
The Sunday Mail reported that of the 10 dump trucks that were commissioned, only three are working. Of the two heavy duty excavators commissioned none is working. Of the six wheel dozers officially handed over, only one is working and all the four tract dozers are not working.
Of all the heavy machinery acquired for Hwange Colliery only three drills are said to be working.
What could easily be deduced from the breakdown is that almost 99 percent of the commissioned equipment is now piled in the dump yard.
Mathematically, this translates to dumping staggering US$31 million within a year.
For a country in financial doldrums like ours, that is a luxury that we can ill-afford.
It is unheard of in the history of corporate governance that equipment worth $32 million would malfunction within a year without any head being placed on the chopping board.
It is unforgivable that the US$32 million that was definitely squeezed from the hard-pressed and struggling citizens could be misappropriated in such a manner, only to fill the bottomless pockets of some heartless public officials.
This is just a tip of the corruption iceberg saddling the economy.
This is but one of the many cases of malfeasance that are crippling this country but remain unchecked.
We have a similar case at Mnene Mission Hospital in Mberengwa, where a dubious supplier was in 2011 awarded a tender to supply medical equipment after the hospital received a US$700 000 from Government's Targeted Approach Programme.
The equipment was supposed to be supplied in six months.
Investigations by the Parliamentary Portfolio on Health and Child Care, however, revealed that after procrastinating for over two and half years, Food Miles eventually supplied a cheaper and sub-standard floor-mounted X-ray machine.
The equipment broke down after being used for a day.
The investigations also established that although Food Miles' contract period had expired, it had only managed to do renovations worth US$57 895 from the US$100 000 advanced to it, which means it could had prejudiced Government of US$42 105.
Reports also indicate that officials at Mnenen hospital conducted business through un-procedural tenders, inflating prices for various medical equipment and other jobs at the referral hospital.
Once again, Government was nicodimously fleeced of tens of thousands of the hard-to-get taxpayers' money through acts of corruption.
It saddening that all this malfeasance with hard hit the same taxpayers as in the case of Hwange, the company will be unable to produce adequate coal supplies to support the production of thermal electricity or to boost operations of the country's beleaguered industries.
This will definitely lead to power and commodity supply challenges that would further pummel the already vulnerable taxpayer.
In the case of Mnene hospital, investigators established that after the one-day X-ray broke down, the disadvantaged rural patients are now being referred to distant towns of Zvishavane, Gweru and Bulawayo for X-rays.
This is callous and unacceptable.
Corruption is definitely eroding infrastructural development in the country and would continue to waste meager resources in the country.
Responsible authorities should not allow a few greedy individuals to pounce and suck the nation dry without bringing them to book.
Government should be jostled by such sad reports and activate its security and justice structures to apprehend the culprits and bring them to justice.
No more should Government offer hollow threats to corrupt officials. It's time to walk the talk.
-------------
Gwinyai Mutongi <gwinz.mutongi@gmail.com
Source - Gwinyai Mutongi
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