Several directors at the Ministry of Transport have been questioned by anti-corruption investigators after informants leaked explosive details linking them to the looting of a fund meant to compensate business and homeowners affected by the Mbudzi interchange project in Harare, the Zimbabwe Independent reports. reveal.
More ministry chiefs are expected to be questioned by Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) officials in the coming weeks in an investigation that could further expose serious management shortcomings in government after thieves forced the Treasury to halt payments to contractors last year. .
Sources revealed that the investigation is likely to include senior figures in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works along with the heads of two of Zimbabwe’s leading real estate agencies, which assessed the affected properties.
The Independent was unable to determine the extent of the fraud, which sources claimed included manipulating numbers to inflate the value of properties, which would end with property owners and corrupt officials sharing the huge looted funds.
However, last year it was estimated that up to US$35 million would be paid to about 130 affected businesses and residential properties to help them relocate. And restart somewhere else.
Of this figure, US$12 million could have been paid to 52 affected individuals and companies by the end of 2023, some officials claimed.
The Independent was unable to determine whether the numbers were correct.
As of last night, Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Felix Mhuna had not responded to questions sent to his office on Tuesday.
The US$88 million interchange, which is at the heart of South Africa’s busiest transport corridor, was an important part of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Emergency Road Rehabilitation Program (ERRP), which was supposed to give a complete makeover of crumbling roads and bridges across the country. All over the country.
Zacc spokesperson Thandiwe Mlobane confirmed the investigation was ongoing, but was not at liberty to reveal full details.
“The investigations are still in their early stages. Commenting now could harm the investigations,” Mloubane told The Independent.
However, official sources said reports of looting spread via anonymous letters during a power struggle at the highest levels of the Ministry of Transport.
“Zak has summoned some managers amid allegations that some property owners at Mbudzi Junction have overstated the value of their properties,” a source said.
He added, “The memorandum (which contains overvalued properties) was signed by (a senior official in the ministry whose name was given to The Independent).”
This week, the official, who was reassigned to another ministry, denied the allegations.
“Zacc is in the process of interviewing various officials from the Ministry of Transport. Some officials staying at the Compensation House have also been interviewed. “It is a hot topic within the government,” the source added.
The Mbudzi Interchange project is being undertaken by a joint venture called Tevuma, after Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed Masimba Holdings joined forces with two other local construction companies – Fossil and Tensor – to pool resources and skills and build the mega facility.
The consortium closed the deal in 2021, and the US$88 million project will be financed through a vendor financing model, with a loan from Fossil already gazetted.
Initially, contractors planned to complete the project early next year, but they are now behind schedule.
When completed, the interchange will contain 13 bridges and 15 kilometers of interchange and service outlets.
In August 2022, the government directed all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to suspend payments to service providers as part of efforts to halt the decline of the local currency that has led to hyperinflation.
Permanent Secretary for Finance and Economic Development George Guvamatanga issued the directive after the Treasury noticed that some contractors were submitting cash invoices for goods and services using parallel market prices.
MDAs were required to obtain Treasury approval for the pricing of existing and future contracts and engage with them due diligence on current charges.
During the same period, Jorum Gambo, then Minister of Presidential Affairs and Monitoring of Government Program Implementation, said contractors were facing payment delays as a result of due diligence, which the government was now undertaking after some of them were found to be inflating prices. .
However, the directive threatened many service providers, who faced cash flow problems.
In September, The Independent revealed that contractors carrying out a massive public infrastructure revamp across the country had threatened to pull out after racking up unpaid bills estimated at “$150 million”.
Authorities launched a massive program to completely renovate or rehabilitate the country’s crumbling infrastructure after President Emmerson Mnangagwa took power in 2017.
The ERRP, which saw the government restore the 582km Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge highway, was among the flagships of the poorly funded but vital programme. Independent Zimbabwe
