Supplier fails to deliver 50 cars to Zimra

THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) reportedly paid a staggering US$209 million for 85 vehicles but only received 15 Toyota Hilux vehicles, with none of the 50 Toyota Corolla vehicles delivered, Parliament heard last week.

This was revealed in a report tabled before Parliament by the Public Accounts Committee chairperson, Charlton Hwende, on its financial statement.

According to the report, the supplier, Mike Harris, cited difficulties in securing foreign currency as the reason for the non-delivery of the vehicles.

Despite Zimra's efforts to resolve the issue through arbitration, the authority lost the case but successfully appealed to the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe to debar the supplier, and the High Court granted the appeal.

"The Auditor-General noted that the authority had not received all vehicles paid for Z$209 million. It paid for 85 vehicles, but the supplier had delivered fifteen (15) of the thirty-five Toyota Hilux and none of the fifty (50) Toyota Corolla vehicles.

"The accounting officer informed the committee that the authority had encountered challenges with Mike Harris when it made a prepayment in Zimbabwean dollars.

"The supplier failed to deliver all the vehicles, citing difficulties in securing foreign currency. The matter went for arbitration and Zimra lost the case."

Hwende said the prepayment made in Zimbabwean dollars had contributed to the supplier's inability to deliver, highlighting potential weaknesses in the procurement of assets in local currency.

Zimra's failure to win the arbitration case suggested potential oversight or mismanagement in handling the supplier relationship and contract enforcement.

Hwende, however, urged Zimra to avoid prepayment and only pay when goods have been received. The report also highlighted weaknesses in Zimra's procurement processes, particularly concerning prepayment made in local currency.

The authority's failure to win the arbitration case also raises concerns about oversight and mismanagement in handling supplier relationships and contract enforcement.

Furthermore, the audit revealed that Zimra's vehicle fleet was aged, with significant repair and maintenance costs being incurred.

Of the 135 vehicles inspected at five regional offices, 44 were non-runners. The authority's reliance on outdated vehicles has been exacerbated by inadequate funding from Treasury, hindering its ability to effectively carry out its mandate.

"The audit noted that the authority's vehicles were aged and were incurring significant repair and maintenance costs. For the five regional offices audited by the Auditor-General, there were 134 old vehicles, of which 44 were non-runners.

"The accounting officer submitted that the authority relied on available vehicles, many of which were more than 10 years old. They bemoaned the gap between the bids submitted to Treasury each year and the amount allocated for the procurement of new vehicles.

"In the absence of adequate funding from Treasury, the authority remained incapacitated to effectively carry out its mandate," the report said.

Hwende said the committee noted that the authority did not have proper systems for managing the disposal of aged vehicles, recommending that Zimra constitute a board of survey that identifies and facilitates the disposal of non-runner vehicles by 31 December 2025.