Norton council bosses’ trial in false start

Senior Court Reporter

THE trial of Norton Town Council finance manager Stephen Tendahupenyu and internal auditor Enert Hapanyengwi on charges of flouting tender and procurement procedures could not start on Wednesday when their lawyer failed to turn up.

 Tendahupenyu and Hapanyengwi are jointly charged with criminal abuse of office as public officers after they allegedly flouted tender procedures when the local authority wanted to buy two roller compactors in 2017.

Their trial was supposed to open before regional magistrate Mrs Feresi Chakanyuka, but was postponed to April 3 after their lawyer failed to turn up for the trial.

According to the State, during 2017 Norton Town Council wanted to procure two roller compactors and it flighted a tender for the supply and delivery of 12 tonne roller compactors. 

Six companies responded: Machinery and Exchange Private Limited, Podilla Ventures Private Limited, Rubtech Machineries Private Limited, Southern Region Private Limited, XGMA Private Limited and AMC Motors Private Limited.

 An evaluation committee was then set up to assess the capacity of the bidders to supply the roller compactors.

According to the State, the evaluation committee found Podilla Ventures did not have a workshop at the time of the visit and was then scored the lowest in terms of historical performance for the equipment offered but had the lowest bid of $77 500 each followed by Rubtech Machinery with $93 402,49 each.

On August 25, 2017 an adjudication process was conducted and Podilla Ventures won the tender.  It is alleged that no contract or memorandum of agreement was signed between the company and Norton Town Council. 

The draft contract stated that Norton Town council was supposed to pay upon delivery of the roller compactors.

A month later, a payment voucher was raised by council accounts clerk Mavis Matabire on instructions of Tendahupenyu for US$155 000 being payment for the two XCMG roller compactors.

It is alleged that this was despite the fact that there was no signed contract and that was against the Norton Town Council financial regulations and accounting procedure manual.

The State alleges that according to the tender bid document, Podilla Ventures was supposed to deliver before payment.

It is said that the payment voucher was then taken to Hapanyengwi for verification of availability of all the necessary documents required in the financial regulations and accounting procedure manual.

Hapanyengwi allegedly signed the payment voucher implying that all relevant documents were available when in actual fact there was no signed contract of agreement between the town council and Podilla Ventures.

Hapanyengwi allegedly did not take the voucher to the Town Secretary for signing.

Tendahupenyu is also alleged to have signed and then withheld the voucher from around September 25 2017 to 21 November 2017 when the Town Secretary was on leave.

He then allegedly ordered the Deputy Director Housing and Community Services, Tichaona Rambiyawo, one of the signatories to the Norton Town Council Agribank account, to sign a local currency transfer form to effect the release of money to Podilla Ventures through a bank transfer.

The two council officials allegedly acted contrary to their duties as a public officers by facilitating a payment of US$155 000 to Podila Ventures as payment for the supply and delivery of two roller compactors without following procedures.

They also allegedly facilitated the payment to Podilla Ventures with a payment voucher that had not been properly approved by the Norton Town secretary and without following procedures.

Mr Oscar Madhume appeared for the State.

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