admininclude tenders and financial irregularities.
The group recently suspended Zimbabwe Power Company managing director Mr Noah Gwariro and his technical director Thanda Chisi, Zesa Enterprises managing director Mr Tererai Mutasa and PowerTel managing director Mr Samuel Maminimini and his chief operating officer Mr Adonia Mushosho.
ZPC is Zesa Holdings’ power generating unit, Zent manufactures and distributes various electricity equipment while PowerTel is an internet service provider.
Asked to comment on the alleged suspensions, Mr Gwariro and Mr Mutasa confirmed that they were not at work, but insisted they were only on official leave. The PowerTel boss could not be reached for comment by the time of going to print.
Zesa Holdings chief executive Mr Josh Chifamba, who wrote the suspension letters, and group spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira could not be reached for comment.
The investigation comes amid reservations over the awarding of the tender for Hwange Power Station to a more expensive bidder and suspected irregularities in a partnership between Zent and an Indian firm, PME Power Solutions.
The Zent boss was sent on forced leave in April amid reports that he questioned the logic of continuously getting supplies of transformer manufacturing raw material from PME Power Solutions beyond the firm’s requirements.
The Zesa subsidiary has a longstanding arrangement, renewable after every five years, with PME for the supply of transformer and other power industry consumables.
But sources said Mr Mutasa questioned in board and other finance meetings the economic sense of incessant supply of the raw materials above Zent’s requests.
As a result, Zent is reportedly holding in excess of US$10 million in transformer manufacturing raw materials way beyond what it would normally require since its major client, the power utility’s transmission unit ZETDC, had indicated that its requirement for transformers had decreased considerably.
However, sources said “for unknown reasons PME Power Solutions kept supplies coming over and above Zent’s orders, building a huge debt for the company”.
Mr Mutasa had allegedly raised the reservations over this situation, which was said to be exerting pressure on its resources because of obligations to PME, as it was now getting less business from ZETDC, which as of April 2013 owed Zent about US$19 million.
Earlier, Zent had been under investigation for suspected externalisation of funds after exporting transformers to Zambia’s power utility Zesco.
Instead of Zent receiving the payment for exchange control clearance reasons the payment was made directly to the Indian company from Zambia.
As such questions have emerged amid suspicion that there could be someone benefiting from a scenario that is being maintained despite its burdening effect on Zent.
Zent chairman confirmed the investigation by NECI, but argued that all transactions being investigated were approved by Cabinet, including the deal with PME that was consummated at the time of the firm’s greatest need for such a partner.
“Because people told them (NECI) that there is something amiss they came (to investigate), but they found all the documents. Everything was done above board.
“If you have got Cabinet authority but there are certain rules of doing things — those rules fall away,” he said.
He also insisted that Mr Mutasa was on official leave.
The ZPC managing director was allegedly suspended over reservations he allegedly expressed on the awarding of the tender for the expansion of Hwange Power Station, which was won by China Machinery Engineering Company. This was despite the fact that CMEC’s bid was US$300 million higher than the US$1 billion Sino Hydro tendered for the same work. It also earlier won the contract for the expansion of Kariba South Power Station.
While the reasons for the suspension of the PowerTel boss remain unclear, it is understood that both him and the COO were suspended around February.
Online Reporter