Director General of Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ) appeared before a Harare Magistrate facing allegations of Criminal Abuse of Office after he failed to do due diligence as required of him by the Procurement Act.
Gift Kallisto Machengete (59) signed a contract between POTRAZ and one B Solutions for the purchase and supply of the containerised village information centres (CVICs) using a quotation method that is prohibited by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act.
Machengete was granted $500 bail when he appeared before Harare magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa. He is expected back in court on January 25. The State alleges that sometime in December 2017, POTRAZ resolved to procure containerised village information centres (CVICs) which were going to be mounted countrywide. On February 7, Machengete wrote to the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) requesting a waiver of procurement regulations to enable the Authority to purchase CVICs through quotations citing that container conversion was a specialized area. RAZ wrote back to POTRAZ advising them to follow the provisions of section 30 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act which provides for the procurement methods. The accounting officer was directed to procure through the normal tender process. POTRAZ purchased 24 CVICs from B Smart business solutions at $70 682.95 each making a total value of $ 1 494 104, 33 through comparative schedule instead of competitive bidding method in terms of the said Act and regulations as Machengete had been directed to do by PRAZ.
More: Mail and Telegraph
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