Suspended University of Zimbabwe (UZ) vice-chancellor Levi Nyagura yesterday appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts facing 27 fresh counts of criminal abuse of office for allegedly awarding a tree-cutting tender to three different companies owned by one person.
Nyagura is being charged along with UZ director of works Lazarus Mabvura (42) and James Chipendo (36). The trio was granted $500 bail each when they appeared before magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa. The complainant is the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, represented by chief executive officer Nyasha Chizu.
UZ, through Mabvura, requested for quotations from tree cutting firms to cut 5 trees in front of the northern wing of Manfred Hodson compound. On August 23, 2015, three companies, namely Frenzy Investments, Tynwald Sawmills and Bright Tree Cutters, responded by submitting quotations to Mabvura. The State alleges Frenzy Investments and Tynwald Sawmills are owned by the same directors, namely Morgan Manyemba, Ruzisai Nechipani and Florence Mukundu, while Bright Tree Cutter is not registered. The State alleges on November 6, 2015, Mabvura connived with Nyagura and awarded the services to Tynwald Sawmills without soliciting for quotations from at least three competitive bidders. The State alleges the same companies were awarded more than 27 contracts from 2015 to 2018 which were worth thousands of dollars.
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Sounds more like a victimization operation to an administration which did the best to shape the image of this nation through the difficult times since 2003. Are the procedures for tenders consistent in Government and in Institutions of Higher Learning.
Just to verify and ensure consistency as there are very interesting parallels. Is this the same Procurement Regulatory Authority [PRA] of Zimbabwe, represented by chief executive officer Nyasha Chizu, which granted the controversial ZESA Gwanda Solar Energy Project tender to the Chivayo Energy Company? Equally is it not that both Institutions and the Government Ministries have a given list of service providers whom they can always bank on as long as quality is guaranteed which gives them the latitude and flexibility to engage without essentially going back to the laborious and costly approval process with the PRA? Equally the presiding judges on a logic of consistency and mere observation of how cases are are raised and motivations behind them, these accusations just mushroom from all corners of Harare and the world, legally preserve the latitude to throw such cases out, so time and resources are saved and and reputation of the otherwise maliciously targetted is protected.