Zimbabwe: NetOne CEO Arrested Over U.S.$1.2m Fraud Allegations

By Mary Taruvinga

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has arrested NetOne Cellular (Pvt) Ltd Chief Executive Officer, Raphael Mushanawani, on allegations of fraud involving more than US$1.2 million.

According to ZACC, allegations against Mushanawani arose from a 2022 contract in which NetOne engaged Farevic Systems (Pvt) Ltd to replace its outdated SAGE 1000 system with a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system at a cost of US$3.5 million.

However, while the project was still underway, Mushanawani allegedly acted outside company procedures.

ZACC said he secretly engaged Lunartech Solutions (Pvt) Ltd to upgrade the very SAGE 1000 system that was meant to be replaced, without the knowledge or approval of the Executive Committee or the Board.

"He engaged Lunartech Solutions at a cost of US$257,600 and went further to sign two addendums to the contract, inflating the upgrade cost to US$1.2 million," ZACC said in a statement.

The anti-graft body added that Mushanawani did not act alone. "The CEO is alleged to have acted in common purpose with Christopher Muchechemera from the finance department in authorising these payments," said ZACC.

In another alleged irregularity, Mushanawani is accused of entering into a contract with Diztech (Pvt) Ltd worth US$79,467 for consultancy and training services that were already included in the Farevic Systems agreement.

ZACC said such double-dipping contracts prejudiced NetOne of substantial resources. "These contracts were neither sanctioned by the board nor necessary, as the original Farevic contract covered the same services."

Mushanawani is expected in court this Tuesday.

Read the original article on New Zimbabwe.

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