The Chinhoyi municipality’s seven-member procurement board is divided over the awarding of a tender for the urgent rehabilitation of the town’s aging sewer system, amid accusations of bribe-taking among councillors.
According to documents leaked to NewsDay, the board at its meeting with consultants, Brian Colquhoun Hugh O’Donnel and Partners, was seized with the matter, forcing the town’s policy-makers to go to vote.
Four out of the seven councillors voted for while three cast against re-advertising the tender after it emerged the two shortlisted firms were “dubious”. Minutes of the heated meeting held last week indicate Clr Owen Charuza raised concern over the capacity of the two shortlisted bidders, which the consultant had recommended.
Charuza alleged poor workmanship of the two firms in previous contracts with a named non-governmental organisation which carried out rehabilitation of Chinhoyi’s water reticulation system in 2010.
Clr Chipo Mlotshwa reportedly backed Charuza saying the two companies be rejected, proposing enlisting services of other potential bidders that had failed to meet the 12 September cut-off
