Chronicle Editor
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Ministry of Local Government and Public Works awarded contracts worth close to US$500 000 to three companies for construction work ahead of the 2014 African Union Sports Council Region 5 Under-20 Youth Games despite them not meeting tender requirements.
Mike Dzimati, the Ministry’s quantity surveying director, awarded a US$214 923 contract to Olimas Engineering to install a heating system at Bulawayo City Swimming Pool although the company did not meet stipulated tender requirements as per the adjudication sheet.
Olimas Engineering failed to provide details of ongoing similar projects, qualifications and history of litigation. The company also failed to meet set deadlines, as the heating system didn’t work for the Games’ duration.
Deloitte and Touche made a site visit to the pool three years later on May 17, 2017, during its forensic audit and found that the heating system was still not functional.
Olimas Engineering was, however, paid US$257 202 after variation orders of US$346 771 were issued to its original contract.
Nextchir Construction who secured a US$94 645 tender for civil works at Bulawayo Athletic Club, Hillside Teachers’ College and White City Stadium, did not provide its company profile, lacked minimum required technical qualifications and did not comply with the tender format by altering the original bill of quantities format and attaching its own preliminaries and generals.
Asphalt Products got a US$123 257 contract for refurbishment works at White City and Luveve stadiums despite failing to provide a company profile, not confirming a bid validity period and not providing historical financial records.
The auditors also noted that Drawcard Enterprises that was contracted to lay a tartan track at White City Stadium in a deal that originally was US$1 179 993 before ballooning to US$3 251 775 failed to take ground level measures requiring the need for additional topsoil at an added cost of US$1 163 199.
“Based on our observations, the quality of workmanship at numerous locations was not commensurate with the expenditure incurred. Games sites are still incomplete and have not been officially handed over to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works and as such they have not been maintained since the completion of the Games. The intended beneficiaries of the Games have not benefited from the purchase and non-installation of numerous equipment such as the three heavy duty standby generators that have remained non-operational since delivery; geysers at White City Stadium and boreholes at Hillside Teachers’ College as well as the water heating system at Bulawayo Swimming Pool,” reads the report.
Meanwhile, a number of local companies and individuals remain unpaid for their services six years after the Games were held with high hopes that they would capacitate Bulawayo industries and local residents.
The audit revealed that members of the local organising committee approved payments of various services of more than US$2 million without any requisitions while more than US$131 000 remains unaccounted for.
Officials also told the auditors that the Games’ asset register disappeared, making it difficult for the auditors to quantify the total value of assets purchased for the Games.
The audit showed that US$372 922 was paid as direct allowances with US$254 444 being paid as travel and subsistence for officials, but the LOC couldn’t provide the list of officials that were entitled to the allowances and neither were the auditors given a list of people that were accommodated at Cresta Hotel, Zaks Place and the School of Hospitality and Tourism.
A director at the School of Hospitality and Tourism, one Nezungai, told auditors that they submitted all records to the LOC and never retained any copies.
According to the audit report, the LOC paid US$338 608 in accommodation costs to the three places for a 19-day duration.
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