Biti grills Zinara over corrupt and incompetent officials

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By Anna Chibamu

THE Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) must fire top executives fingered in shoddy deals including paying suppliers for goods and services worth millions that were never delivered, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee has demanded.

Quizzed by committee chairperson Tendai Biti, Zinara board chair Michael Madanha admitted that Zinara head engineer Givie Kufa approved and signed for most of the 14 contracts paying the contractors US$71 million and another R31 million but in most cases the jobs paid for were not done at all and in some instances not completed.

“All indications point out to fraud. Procedures were flouted by those who were in power and they should be brought to book once assessment of the actual prejudice was complete. We will take disciplinary action soon. Just watch the space. Something will happen soon.

“As for those still employed, the company is still assessing the actual loss to the company. Those implicated should come and answer to the issues raised in the report,” Madanha promised.

But Biti was not convinced and burst out: “That is not good enough chairman. Why are those people still there? So what is he (Kufa) still doing at Zinara? Chairman?”

More than 19 Zinara employees were arrested recently while some senior managers resigned following the explosion of the scandal into the public domain.

Biti demanded to know the names of the owners of the companies paid before delivery but only a few were named as the new management professed ignorance on the issue claiming they were new to the parastatal.

According to the Forensic Audit report, out of the 14 companies contracted by Zinara, Kufa signed off three related companies and paid them despite failure to deliver.

The late Twalumba Holdings boss, Nkululeko Sibanda owned three companies, Notify Attachers, Beanpoles and Twalumba Civil Service all paid in advance with no job done, the committee heard.