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Zvikomborero Parafini
DID businessmen — Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu — come to the Harare Magistrates Court from home or from detention at the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission offices?
The answer to that question took centre stage at court yesterday and was the difference between the two businessmen spending the night at home or in remand prison.
In the end, the question was not answered, and could be answered today, depending on what will transpire when they return to court.
However, because that question could not be answered, it meant that Chimombe and Mpofu, who are facing fraud charges, had to spend the night in remand prison yesterday.
The court heard that in 2021, the Government, as part of the Rural Development Agenda, introduced the Presidential Goat Pass-on scheme.
It was meant to alleviate poverty among the less privileged households across the country’s 10 provinces.
The Government targeted to buy special goat breeds for households, and their village heads, and it anticipated to procure more than 500 000 goats for this scheme.
The Government mandated the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development to implement this programme and the Ministry flighted a tender for the supply and delivery of the goats.
Four companies — Kotrum Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd, Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry Farming, Millytake Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd and Zvikomborero Farms (Pvt) Ltd — submitted their bids.
It is alleged that the duo participated in the tender knowing that Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry Farming was not registered and did not have a valid ZIMRA Tax Clearance certificate and National Social Security Authority compliance certificate required for a company to be eligible to bid in that tender.
The State alleged that they forged a ZIMRA Tax clearance certificate (ITF263) bearing business partner number 0200158956 and a (NSSA) compliance certificate number 4798/21, in the name of Blackdeck (Pvt) Ltd bearing Social Security registration number 0197190L.
This was attached to a bidding document which they submitted to the Ministry of Lands misrepresenting that the company was in full compliance with ZIMRA and NSSA Laws.
The tender was awarded to the duo and both parties entered into an agreement for the supply and delivery of 632 001 goats for Presidential Goats pass-on Scheme valued at US$87 757 168.
The ministry deposited an equivalent of US$7 712 197, in local currency, into Blackdeck (Pvt) Ltd CABS bank account towards the purchasing of the goats.
After delays in delivery the Ministry made follow ups and discovered that the duo had no capacity to deliver the goats as they had only 3713 goats in their holding sites.
They delivered 4 208 goats, valued at US$331 445, and went on to convert the US$7 380 751 to their personal use, according to the prosecution.
Anesu Chirenje appeared for the State.
Online Reporter