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Nyore Madzianike–Senior Court Reporter 

SUSPENDED Chitungwiza Municipality director of Works, David Duma and procurement manager Dezmore Nyeke, allegedly flouted tender procedures and misappropriated US$56 000 disbursed by the Zimbabwe National Roads Authority (Zinara) towards the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP) sometime in May 2021.

Duma and Nyeke allegedly unprocedurally awarded RipCare Investments (Pvt) Limited a tender to deliver two tippers for road rehabilitation in Chitungwiza between May 7 and June 3, 2021.

The two allegedly went on to pay the company US$56 000 ($7 144 800), which was above the regulated US$20 000 threshold.

Duma and Nyeke were not asked to plead to the charges when they appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje charged with criminal abuse of office.

They were each ordered to deposit $50 000 bail and return to court on May 10.

Mr Pardon Dziva, appearing for the State, alleged that on April 15, 2021, Chitungwiza Municipality requested disbursements of funds from Zinara for ERRP Phases 1 and 2.

The programme was to run for 20 days at an estimated value of $52 152 000, which was equivalent to approximately US$25 317.65, according to the Gant Chart and Commitment Register compiled and submitted to Zinara by Chitungwiza Town Clerk.

Nyeke, allegedly without going to tender and seeking approval from the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ), and in connivance with Duma, split the acquisition and order for payments at five intervals, as they were aware that the monetary value of the project for 20 days exceeded the threshold of US$20 000.

They were also aware that the procurement fell under Class C of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (General) Regulations. 

It is alleged that they also requested for an extension of the project to avoid the monetary threshold, yet in actual fact there was no extension required as the tipper trucks worked for 15 consecutive days from May 7 to 21, 2021.

The tippers stopped for a few days and resumed from May 31 to June 4, 2021, according to the State.

Duma and Nyeke allegedly acted as if they had extended the project through memos, both signed and approved by them, yet in actual fact no extension was required.

It is said that RipCare Investments (Pvt) Ltd was verbally engaged to provide services of two tipper trucks from May 7 to June 4, 2021 for 80 hours at a rate of $14 885.

The court heard that there was no contract signed between RipCare Investments and Chitungwiza Municipality.

Allegations are that some of the money paid to RipCare Investments Pvt Ltd was diverted from salaries and wages of Chitungwiza Municipality employees.

Chitungwiza Municipality procurement clerk, Robert Ndoromasasi, also separately appeared in court on charges of forging quotations when he prepared a comparative schedule for a tender that required two tippers for undertaking the roads project under ERRP in April 2021.

Ndoromasasi allegedly manufactured quotations for Perfect Tools (Pvt) Ltd and Dellyway (Pvt) Limited, which were letter disowned by the two companies.

The quotations resulted in the tender being awarded to RipCare Investments, according to the State.

Ndoromasasi was not asked to plead to forgery charges when he appeared before Mr Mambanje, who remanded him to May 10 on $50 000 bail.