US$400,000 tender lands ex-Harare officials in court

TWO former senior City of Harare officials were yesterday arraigned before the court to answer to a criminal abuse of office charge involving a fraudulent US$465 290 tender award for the Mbare Biogas Project.

Harare regional magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa granted former chamber secretary Josephine Ncube (62) and Phillip Mabingo Pfukwa (70) council's ex-works director US$400 bail each.

Ncube and Pfukwa are accused of illegally awarding a contract to Synlak Investments (Pvt) Limited in 2015, despite the company failing to meet tender requirements.

The contract, which was meant to fund the construction of biogas digesters and a power generator for the city, was allegedly manipulated to benefit Synlak without the necessary approval from the city's procurement committees.

According to prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti, City of Harare received a €350 500 grant from the European Union in December 2013 to support the project.

However, instead of following procurement procedures, Pfukwa and Ncube allegedly bypassed key adjudication processes and misrepresented information to push through the contract award to Synlak Investments.

Pfukwa, as the director of works, reportedly conducted the tender evaluation himself, contrary to the regulations that require an independent review by the town clerk and the procurement committee.

He allegedly recommended Synlak despite the company lacking the necessary experience in civil works and biogas projects.

Ncube allegedly worked in common purpose with Pfukwa to issue an internal memorandum, asserting that Synlak met the tender conditions.

The contract was awarded on December 31, 2015, without the oversight of relevant committees, in violation of the Procurement Act and City of Harare regulations.

The court heard that following the fraudulent contract award, Synlak Investments received full payment of US$465 290 from the City of Harare.

However, investigations revealed that the company failed to deliver, leaving the project incomplete thereby prejudicing the city.

The State further alleged that Pfukwa and Ncube knowingly acted contrary to their official duties, with the intent to give Synlak an unfair advantage.

Their actions resulted in a financial loss to the city and stalled progress on the biogas project, which was expected to provide an alternative energy source for Mbare.

The case will resume on April 14 this year.