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Kuwaza grilled

Business
State Procurement Board (SPB) chairperson Charles Kuwaza was chased out of the Mines and Energy Parliamentary Portfolio Committee after failing to answer questions.

State Procurement Board (SPB) chairperson Charles Kuwaza was chased out of the Mines and Energy Parliamentary Portfolio Committee after failing to answer questions.

BY TARISAI MANDIZHA

Kuwaza was expected give oral evidence on the tendering system in the electricity sector.

The committee, chaired by Gutu Central MP Lovemore Matuke, told Kuwaza to reappear on July 6, adding that he should come prepared to answer questions.

Kuwaza failed to provide answers on how many tenders had been floated, tenders awarded and the number of companies that won tenders and failed to deliver.

“You have failed to answer the questions, the question is: Should we continue or cancel?” Matuke asked members.

Legislators said Kuwaza should go and come back prepared.

Before his expulsion from the committee, Kuwaza had told legislators that SPB had no capacity to check all the tenders on the State machinery one by one.

“The SPB job was decentralised to accounting officers. There are 1000 tenders in the State machinery, but it cannot be done like that to check every transaction. We normally do through a simple audit if the job was done properly,” Kuwaza said.

“It’s too much to ask the SPB to check all the files. The accounting officers are responsible, they were appointed to do the work and they must work.”

Kuwaza said the tenders were split into two categories — those worth $500 000 for goods and services and the ones from $2 million for construction.

He said the ones which were below $500 000 were handled by accounting officers.

Kuwaza said SPB had awarded 205 tenders worth $2 378 710 354 for Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company and the Zimbabwe Power Company in the period 2010 to 2015.

In 2015, SPB awarded 15 tenders worth $107 697 061 as compared to 24 tenders which were awarded in 2014 worth $298 260 240.

SPB is a government organ responsible for the administration of procurement services for the entire government and government-related institutions.

Its operations are guided by an Act of Parliament.

Regularly the SPB issues out tender invitations and other procurement notices for various goods and services and one must be registered with the board as a precondition to participate in the tenders.