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Munyaradzi Musiiwa Midlands Correspondent
Two Ministry of Health and Child Care officials and another from Mnene Mission Hospital in Mberengwa who allegedly defrauded the hospital of about $400 000 by flouting tenders and inflating prices of equipment were recently hauled before the courts.National procurement officer Wilbert Madenga, national projects and planning officer Richard Dharara and Mnene Hospital administrator Mr Ziboniso Noel Moyo, who are jointly charged with criminal abuse of office and duty as public officers, appeared before Gweru regional magistrate Mr Morgan Nemadire facing three counts of fraud.
The trio was remanded on free bail after their lawyers Misheck Hogwe and Reynoso Gumbo requested for more time.
Mnene, Mberengwa’s biggest referral hospital servicing 35 clinics and four rural hospitals, was given a $700 000 grant by Government under the targeted approach programme in 2011 meant to improve health service delivery.
Allegations are that the three officers connived to forge the permanent secretary’s date stamp to approve tenders, resulting in the Lutheran-run institution being prejudiced of about $400 000.
The prosecutor Mr Fred Kadodo alleged that Dharara, Moyo and Madenga did something contrary to or inconsistent with their duty as public officers.
Mr Kadodo alleged that sometime in November 2011, Mnene Mission Hospital sought to buy a 110-litre autoclave machine and Moyo wrote a letter to the Ministry of Health and Child Care permanent secretary seeking authority to quote a complete tender from Masvingo Provincial Hospital instead of seeking authority from the State Procurement Board.
Moyo went to Dharara and the two connived to use the already processed tenders from United Bulawayo Hospitals and Chitsungo Mission Hospital.
He then paid $64 634,25 for the machine, whereas the market price was $10 500.
In October the same year, Mnene Mission Hospital sought to procure a ceiling mounted x-ray, a mobile x-ray and an x-ray processor.
Dharara granted the authority to purchase medical equipment, leading to Mnene awarding tenders to Capital Transfer for the supply of the ceiling mounted x-ray valued at $180 000 and Food Miles Trading for the supply of the x-ray processor valued at $40 500.
The market price for the ceiling mounted x-ray was $83 000 and that of the x-ray processor was $7 000.
The trio used the same method to inflate prices for the renovations of the hospital.
The rot was unearthed by Mberengwa North MP Cde Tafanana Zhou in May last year when he had gone on a fact-finding mission on water problems Mnene Hospital was facing.
Online Reporter