Online Reporter
Zvikomborero Parafini
BUSINESSMAN Moses Mpofu is expected back in court today for a bail ruling in his fresh fraud charges.
In his latest brush with the law, Mpofu is being charged with his wife Nobukhosi and brother Vusimuzi James Mpofu, who are the co directors of his company Synlak Pvt Ltd, who were released on US$800 bail.
He is appearing on behalf of his company and in his personal capacity.
The complainant is the State, represented by the Acting Town Clerk Mabhena Moyo.
The court heard that in December 2013, the City of Harare received a grant of €350,500.00 from the European Union for the design and construction of 4 by 200m3 biogas digesters and the supply, installation and commissioning of 100KVA biogas generator for Mbare biogas project.
Four companies —Synlak (Pvt) Limited, The Mongrel Investments (Pvt) Limited, Sneydon Investments (Pvt) Limited and Contech Contractors (Pvt) Limited responded to the tender invitation. It is alleged that on March 28, 2015, the then Director of Works Phillip Mabingo Pfukwa, who is on remand on similar allegations, performed technical evaluation and recommended the award of the tender to Synlak.
Upon the signing of the contract, Mpofu and his accomplices allegedly wrote a letter to Tendai Kwenda, the then Director of Finance for the City of Harare, requesting for a phased payment schedule with an advance payment of US$186 116.00 and no invoice was raised.
This was done notwithstanding that the tender was awarded on the basis that the bidder had pledged that they had the financial muscle to carry out the work before making claims for payments.
