Four City of Harare employees have been dragged to court on allegations of illegally awarding a street lights tender worth US$9 million to Juluka Enndo Joint Venture, a company in which Moses Mpofu has a majority shareholding.
The four are Never Murerwa (62), Jabulani Mukomazi (44), Denford Zhungu (69) and Tawanda Mutenhabundo (29).
They appeared before Harare magistrate, Marewanazvo Gofa who remanded them in custody awaiting the finalisation of their bail hearing.
Murerwa and Mukomazi are employed by the City of Harare in the Procurement Management Unit as Manager Supply Chain and Principal Buyer respectively.
Murerwa's duties as the Manager Supply Chain involve among others authorise tender methods to be used in procurement while Mukomazi's duties include among others determining the procurement method to be used in procurement.
Zhungu and Mutenhabundo are also employed by the City of Harare as Principal Accountant and Engineering Technician respectively. Still, during the material time, they were members of the tender evaluation committee which adjudicated on tender number COH/DOW/S.5/2024 for the refurbishment of streetlights on various roads within Harare.
Their duties involve among others, evaluating the bids if they meet the standard requirements of invitation to tender document.
It is alleged that in January 2024, the City of Harare embarked on a rehabilitation of street lighting along Harare roads in preparation for the 44th Southern African Development Committee Summit (SADC) which will be held in August 2024 in Harare, Zimbabwe.
On 29 January 2024, PRAZ granted a few specific exemptions to facilitate the expeditious completion of various key projects in time for the Summit.
"Consequently, on 15 March 2024, an invitation to tender was published in the story Authority- Government Gazette and it was listed on the Procurement Regulatory portal on 19 March 2024.
"Eleven companies namely, Donax Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd, Ship Tracks (Pvt) Ltd, Furbank Trading (Pvt) Ltd, Radiation Incorporation (Pvt) Ltd, Slowgrad Engineering (Pvt) Ltd, Syvern Investments (Pvt) Ltd, Onel Electrical Engineers (Pvt) Ltd, Boltgas International (Pvt) Ltd, Stoyna Computers (Pvt) Ltd, Juluka Ennd Joint Venture (Pvt) Ltd and Exodus & Company (Pvt) Ltd responded to the tender Invitation," prosecutors alleged.
On 28 March 2024, Murerwa appointed the Tender Opening Committee.
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On 19 April 2024, an Evaluation Committee which included all his accomplices sat and awarded Syvern Investments, Exodus and Company, Ship Tracks and Onel Engineering the tender to rehabilitate eight of the 10 lots.
Due to lot limitation, no company were awarded more than two lots.
Juluka Enndo Joint Venture, a company in which controversial businessman Moses Mpofu has a majority shareholding, was disqualified after failing to meet the tender requirements.
However, the 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.
"They further disregarded their earlier decision to disqualify Juluka Enndo Joint Venture for failing to meet the bid requirements.
"Further, the accused awarded the tender to Juluka Ennd Joint Venture whose owners also own Synlak (Pvt) Ltd, a company which had in 2019 been awarded a tender for a biogas digester and had failed to deliver.
"This was contrary to the standard bidding document condition which provided that bidders who had bad records in the execution of the City of Harare works were not eligible," the court heard.
Acting upon the accused's recommendations City of Harare entered into a contract with Juluka Ennd Joint Venture and thereafter commenced preparation for an advance payment of the contract value of US$9 244 328.71.
"By so acting, the accused knowingly acted contrary and inconsistent with their duties as public with the intention of extending an undue favour to Juluka Ennd Joint Venture (Pvt) Ltd," said the National Prosecuting Authority.
