HARARE – Jailed businessman Moses Mpofu’s company Juluka Enndo Joint Venture has been drawn into a City of Harare street lighting tender scandal involving US$9 million.
It is alleged that the company was unlawfully awarded the tender despite that it had been disqualified for failing to meet the requirements.
The deal was for rehabilitation of street lighting along Harare roads in preparation for the 44th Southern African Development Committee (SADC) Summit which will be held in August 2024 in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Four City of Harare employees have been arrested in connection with the scandal.
The four are Never Murerwa (62), Jabulani Mukomazi (44), Denford Zhungu (69) and Tawanda Mutenhabundo, aged 29.
They are charged with criminal abuse of office as public officers.
They appeared before Harare magistrate, Marewanazvo Gofa with the state opposing bail.
According to court papers, Murerwa and Mukomazi are employed by City of Harare in the Procurement Management Unit as Manager Supply Chain and Principal Buyer respectively.
Murerwa’s duties as the Manager Supply Chain involves, among others, to authorise tender method to be used in procurement while Mukomazi’s duties include determining the procurement method to be used in procurement.
“Zhungu and Mutenhabundo are also employed by City of Harare as Principal Accountant and Engineering Technician respectively, but 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, to evaluate the bids if they meet the standard requirements of invitation to tender document,” said the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
It is state’s case that in January this year, City of Harare embarked on a rehabilitation of street lighting along Harare roads in preparation for the 44th SADC Summit.
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 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.
On 28 March 2024, Murerwa appointed the Tender Opening Committee.
“On 19 April 2024, an Evaluation Committee which included accused 2, 3 and 4 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 was awarded more than two lots.
“Juluka Enndo Joint Venture, a company in which controversial businessman, Moses Mpofu has majority shareholding was disqualified after failing to meet the tender requirements,” the court heard.
However, the accused employees, 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 requires the procurement to be done through a competitive bidding process.
It is alleged that they further disregarded their earlier decision to disqualify Juluka Enndo Joint Venture for having failed to meet the bid requirements.
“Further, the accused awarded the tender to Juluka Ennd Joint Venture whose owners also owns 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 execution of City of Harare works were not eligible,” said the state.
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.
Mpofu is currently in jail awaiting bail determination in another case he is accused of defrauding the state of US$7 million in another tender scandal.
