Online Reporter
Conrad Mupesa
Mashonaland West Bureau
THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) arrested Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital medical superintendent Collet Mawire on Wednesday for inflating the cost of a canopy for his Government-issued Isuzu D-Max vehicle to secure an unlawful reimbursement of US$2 100 from the hospital.
According to the ZACC docket, Mawire received the vehicle, registration AGP 9271, without a canopy as part of his employment package.
The accessory was not authorised by the Ministry of Health, nor was it part of the hospital’s procurement plan.
ZACC alleges that in July 2024, Dr Mawire privately engaged Tinofara Munashe Jokwi, who operates an unregistered backyard business known as Zim Canopies, to supply a canopy for US$1 800, with a US$500 deposit paid upfront using the doctor’s personal money.
Investigators say he later instructed Jokwi to prepare an inflated quotation of US$2 100 and submit it to Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital so he could be reimbursed the inflated amount.
When Jokwi indicated that he had no company registration or tax documents, the docket states Mawire allegedly directed him to use paperwork from another company, Auto Quick Window Screen (Pvt) Ltd, owned by his cousin.
Despite having already bought and fitted the canopy on his own, ZACC says the doctor then instructed the hospital’s procurement team to open a retrospective procurement process to legitimise the purchase, and later approved the request himself as the hospital’s accounting officer.
Between September 19 and December 3, 2024, Mawire allegedly authorised four payments into his own First Capital Bank account totalling US$2 100, the same inflated figure he had earlier directed Jokwi to quote.
Investigators concluded the hospital suffered prejudice of US$2 100 and that normal administration was compromised through the alleged manipulation of procurement procedures.
Mawire is expected to appear in court to answer to the allegations.
