Zimbabwe’s Finance Ministry paid over R1.1 billion to a South African company awarded contracts to supply election materials, with more than R800 million of that amount immediately flowing into bank accounts linked to companies owned by businessman Wicknell Chivayo.
Chivayo has faced accusations of securing government contracts through bribery, although he denies the allegations.
Ren-Form CC, a commercial printing company based in Johannesburg, was selected without a tender process to supply materials to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) for the August 23, 2023, general elections.
An analysis of Ren-Form’s bank accounts, conducted by South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) between April 5, 2023, and May 16, 2024, revealed significant price inflation for the election materials.
The materials included ballot papers, biometric registration kits, a central server, non-flushing toilets, indelible ink, and tents. The inflated prices charged to Zimbabwe’s treasury were said to include commissions for Chivayo and his partners.
For example, Ren-Form invoiced the ZEC R23 million for a central server that could be bought online for R90,000. The company also billed for 2,000 non-flushing toilets at R68,700 each, although similar units typically retail for around R10,000.
Ren-Form also supplied biometric voter registration (BVR) kits to the ZEC. Originally quoted at US$5,000 each, the price of the kits nearly tripled to nearly US$16,000 by the time the final invoice was submitted. For comparison, similar BVR kits cost the United Nations Development Programme US$3,600 per unit for the 2021 elections in Honduras.
According to the FIC, the Finance Ministry transferred a total of R1,167,364,300.51 (approximately US$61.1 million) to two of Ren-Form’s bank accounts at Standard Bank in South Africa.
In addition, the ministry made a direct payment of R156 million to an account under the name of Edenbreeze, a company owned by Chivayo, for “architectural, engineering, and other technical services.”
In the confidential report dated October 30, 2024, FIC said:
Ren-Form received over R1 billion from the Zimbabwe ministry of finance and economic development. More than R800 million was transferred to the business bank accounts of Wicknell Chivayo, mainly Intratrek Holdings and Dolintel Trading Enterprise.
Once the funds were deposited into the accounts of Chivayo’s two companies, significant payments were made to his personal and other business accounts. One personal account alone received over R36 million, reportedly for car purchases.
Among the companies paid large sums by Chivayo’s company Intratrek were Agile Venture Capital, Makopah Holdings, Platinum Group, WMC Trading, Opened 4 All Trading & Projects, and Asibambeki Platinum Group, which received a staggering R351 million. Asibambeki is listed with Emmanuel Musanyenda as its sole director.
Chivayo also made notable payments to various businesses, including R4 million to the law firm Strauss Scher Inc., R5.4 million to car dealer Daytona, R1.6 million to travel agency Flight Centre South Africa, and R5.6 million to NN Truck and Trailer.
Chivayo also transferred R1 million to Zimbabwean makeup brand Christian by Hadassah. Other payments included R28.8 million to Kumba Group and R9.4 million to Indo Logistics.
The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) submitted its findings to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Financial Intelligence Unit, as well as to South African authorities, including the South African Revenue Service and the South African Police Service, urging them to begin investigations into the matter.
More: ZimLive
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