Pro-Chamisa activist Mkwananzi implicated in tender scam

Brenna Matendere

Harare—A Harare company linked to Promise Mkwananzi, an opposition politician and activist, was paid around US$50,000 to upgrade the Morton Jaffray water laboratory near Lake Chivero three years ago but has not done the required job.

Mkwananzi is the spokesperson of a Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) faction that was led by Nelson Chamisa before the latter resigned early this year.

The politician-cum-entrepreneur replaced Fadzayi Mahere as CCC spokesperson ahead of last year’s general elections.

NewsHub established that Mkwananzi’s name does not feature in registration documents of the company, Tamira Investments (Pvt) Ltd, but has been representing the entity at meetings with the City of Harare’s water department at Old Mutual House.

He has also been playing the administrative role for Tamira, handling contract documentation that includes invoices and making payment follow-ups.

Rocketreach, a business intelligence outfit, names Mkwananzi as the Tamira director.

Investigations have revealed that the Harare municipality entered into a contract with Tamira Investments in October 2021 for the design, supply and renovation of the Morton Jaffray water laboratory.

The job was supposed to be completed within eight weeks.

The Tamira Facebook page has a mere five likes and six followers, bringing into question the credentials of the company—whose address is given as 25 Bath Road, Avondale in Harare—to do the job.

The laboratory would, among other things, sample treated water to ensure it met set standards and had adequate dosages of chemicals.

Because Tamira failed to complete the job, the council has been forced to use the Cleveland laboratory, which is failing to cope with demand for clean water in the capital because of its size.

Clause 8 of the contract says payment would be made only for actual work done while clause 10 stipulates that a performance guarantee be furnished by the company, which was not the case.

 

A visit to Morton Jaffray by this publication revealed that the supposed laboratory is located inside a building complex that has offices and the control room for the major water plant that is a key supplier for Harare.

While the laboratory was supposed to become a state of the art facility, the only work done so far comprises some interior wall painting, unfinished tiling, three new aluminum doors and the partitioning of the chemist’s office.

The shabby rooms, which have not been cleaned after the construction works done in 2022, are currently stuffed with building materials like bags of cement and tiles.

One room has loose bricks that surround some plastic bottles with unspecified chemicals.

An old stove probably used by the builders is stashed in one corner, close to empty boxes.

Power wiring was disrupted by the half-hearted refurbishment, with electricity wires hanging from open sockets.

Documents at hand show that the Harare city council architect, Leonard Chirombo who passed on last year after a short illness, authorised the local authority to make payments to Tamira Investments at the three different times.

On 23 December 2022, Chirombo authorised payment of US$23 268 into Tamira Investment company’s Cabs account number 1120529040526.

He also authorised the disbursement of ZW$2.7 million and ZW$7 266 178 which were transferred to Tamira Investments, when the exchange rate against the US dollar fluctuated at an average of 400.

This brings the financial prejudice to the City of Harare to over US$48,000.

The money to fund the laboratory upgrade was drawn from devolution funds allocated under the 2021 national budget.

On 29 February this year a Tamira Investments executive, Peter Pfunye, wrote a letter to the municipality requesting a top-up of US$7,400 to cushion the company against inflation for money paid in the local currency.

“This loss of value arose from delayed payment of our most recent invoice that was issued on the 6^th of May 2022 and only settled on 2nd of January 2023. In addition, our initial invoice was reduced by 50% from the original invoice requested,” reads part of the letter.

On 6 May 2024, the acting finance director, Godfrey Kusangaya, wrote to the now suspended town clerk Hosiah Chisango, advising that it was financially imprudent to agree to that request.

Chisango was late last month arrested over a botched street lighting deal worth some US$92 million and is currently standing trial in the courts.

“As provided for in Clause 19.18.1, Tamira Investments is in breach of the contract since eight weeks has extended to over two and a half years,” adds the letter.

Kusangaya also complained that the letter by Pfunye representing Tamira Investments did not have a signature.

Harare mayor Jacob Mafume told NewsHub that the contract with Tamira had become null and void.

“That contract has effectively been cancelled and the contract referred to our audit committee. The company was paid monies and we are moving on to recover those funds,” he said.

Media reports indicate that the works directorate at the municipality was tasked to investigate the contract and produce a report.

This publication established that the report was yet to be completed.

Mkwananzi did not respond to a request for an interview sent to him last week.

He also did not respond to specific questions sent to him via Whatsapp.

A call that was initiated to reach him was answered but no voice came from his end.

Precious Shumba, the Harare Residents Trust (HRT) director, said Tamira had no capacity to do the job.

“They (Tamira Investments) have failed to give value for money yet reports indicate that they have made numerous demands for payment,” said Shumba who urged the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) to investigate the Tamira contract.

“As the Harare Residents Trust, we suspect that they (Tamira) were merely handpicked without any due diligence conducted on their previous jobs, capacity and track record. It is ratepayers who lose in all these opaque deals,” Shumba added.