FORMER Midlands State University (MSU) bursar Mamelo Moyo and her husband, Melusi Moyo (former acting director of works at MSU), yesterday jointly appeared in court on allegations of failing to declare to their employer that they had an interest in a company that supplied goods to the institution.
Stephen Chadenga
The couple appeared before Gweru provincial magistrate Pathekile Msipa facing charges of corruptly concealing from a principal a personal interest in a transaction as defined in section 173 (1) (a) (1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. They were both denied bail and remanded to March 2 for trial.
Mamelo faces a separate charge of criminal abuse of office.
Allegations are that Mamelo would authorise payments on goods supplied by her husband’s company, Netabelt Investments (Pvt) Ltd, to MSU without following proper tender procedures. Mamelo and Melusi allegedly carried out the transactions without registering any conflict of interest with MSU.
In denying them bail, Msipa said although they were unlikely to abscond, they were likely to interfere with witnesses.
Allegations against Mamelo are that sometime in December 2013, she called her sister’s husband, Tinashe Shumba, then based in Botswana, and requested him to supply toner cartridges to MSU.
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Shumba sent a quotation for 25 cartridges and on February 22, 2014, delivered the cartridges.
Mamelo immediately authorised payment of $9 860 from the MSU cash register. Shumba was allegedly handed the money and he gave Mamelo $200 as an appreciation for the deal.
The university’s procurement procedures demanded that three quotations should have been sought. The State further alleges that on October 26, 2015, MSU got a tip-off that the two had an undisclosed relationship with the institution’s suppliers of stationery and computer accessories, Netabelt Investments.
MSU ordered a probe into the alleged relationship. To cover up her tracks, Mamelo allegedly ordered her subordinates to sign declaration forms that authenticated registration of conflict of interest.
The investigators allegedly discovered that Melusi, through Netabelt Investments, had three transactions worth $36 857 with MSU that were processed through tender processes for supplying stationery.
Mamelo, who was a member of the university’s tender adjudication committee, did not disclose such conflict of interest to the committee. After receiving the stationery, she allegedly approved payment in cash to Melusi.
Further allegations are that Melusi had 30 transactions through his company, Netabelt, worth $154 393 with MSU for the supply of stationery and food. His wife would authorise payments to him.
In all these transactions, both suspects allegedly failed to declare any conflict of interest with their employer.
