CCC senator Sengezo Tshabangu has called on the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion to provide explanations regarding a payment of US$9 million made to a South African firm for the procurement of portable toilets and vests.
The payment was made long after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) had attempted to source the items for use in the 2023 elections.
Tshabangu, who is a CCC Matabeleland North province senator, brought up the issue in the Senate last week during the Question and Answer session.
According to ZimLive, ZEC ordered 2,000 non-flushable toilets on the eve of the August 2023 elections at a cost of US$7.6 million.
The toilets, priced at an exorbitant US$3,800 per unit compared to their retail price of about US$300 in South Africa, were finally delivered in April 2024 — eight months after the election took place. Said Tshabangu:
My question is, why did the Ministry of Finance settle the full invoice amounting to over US$9 million which went through their Banker CBZ on the 7th of September, 2023 for the procurement of portable toilets and translucent light boxes for V11 forms that were never delivered.
In response to Tshabangu, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Lovemore Matuke attempted to dismiss the question, stating that the allegations were unsubstantiated. Said Matuke:
The allegations are not substantial. We cannot deal with information which is not substantiated. What the honourable Senator is saying has no proof.
I thought we could research more on that because there is nothing like that which happened. It never came into the public domain, those are simply allegations.
However, Tshabangu, citing the criminal code and the national constitution, insisted that the allegations warranted investigation. He said:
We build cases on allegations. The nature of the criminal code is that you build a case from an allegation. This is in the public domain and we are a Senate, we are talking about Chapter 12 of the Constitution.
If it is an allegation, it is an allegation; they should come to this House and respond to these allegations that we pose to them because they are there in the public domain.
We are talking about taxpayers’ money which is about US$9 million. If it is an allegation, ZEC has to respond.
The Ministry of Finance has to respond beyond any reasonable doubt that this is an allegation because it is there in the public domain.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Deputy Minister, Robert Mazungunye, requested more time to research the allegation. Said Mazungunye:
As far as I am concerned, I feel that question is a specific question which might require time to go back and research more on it and maybe if we do our findings, then we can properly respond to that matter.
At the moment, there are still allegations which are not substantiated as has been said already but we may need to go and verify.
The allegations suggest potential criminal abuse of public office. It does not make sense that the Treasury would authorise payments totalling millions for items that were no longer needed, and at significantly inflated prices.
This raises questions about the decision-making processes and oversight mechanisms within the government procurement system.
The public deserves a thorough investigation into these allegations to ensure accountability and prevent the misuse of public funds in the future.
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