adminwith criminal abuse of office when they appeared before Gutu provincial magistrate Mr Nyasha Vitorini.
Jinga (43) of Tigere village in Gadzingo communal lands and Tozvireva (47) of Mpandawana in Gutu were remanded out of custody on their own cognisance to May 7 for trial.
The duo allegedly paid Bruvoc Construction 40 percent deposit for a water reticulation project against the recommendations of a full council meeting.
Two key prosecution witnesses — Masvingo provincial administrator Mr Felix Chikovo and Gutu District Administrator Mr Roy Hove — were issued with warrants of arrest after they failed to come to court.
Related Stories…
The two later showed up in court resulting in the magistrate cancelling the warrants of arrest that had been issued against them.
Charges against Jinga and Tozvireva arose in June last year when Gutu local authority flighted a tender for a water reticulation project in Munhende and Chomufuli residential areas at Mpandawana Growth Point.
Council’s finance committee, which was adjudicating on the tenders, resolved that no company that would have won the tender would be paid a deposit before commencing work on the project.
Three days later the water reticulation tender was awarded to Bruvoc Construction and it is alleged that Jinga and Tozvireva colluded and facilitated payment of about US$103 000 to Bruvoc Construction as deposit in breach of the council resolution agreed upon by a full council.
The case was reported to the district administrator Mr Hove who then informed the police leading to the duo’s arrest.
Jinga, who was elected councillor in 2008 on an MDC-T ticket recently crossed the floor to the Professor Welshman Ncube’s MDC formation.
He was recently suspended by Local Government, Urban and Rural Development Minister Ignatius Chombo for corruption pending the constitution of a disciplinary committee that will preside over his case.
Ms Beatrice Mukaro appeared for the State.
Online Reporter