GOVERNMENT this week appointed a new board for the Central Mechanical and Engineering Department (CMED) as it gears towards transforming the entity into a modern and profit-making organisation.
The board is led by Tamara Stevenson an engineer by profession and it also consists of individuals from diverse backgrounds, notably former cabinet minister Tshinga Dube and renowned lawyer Simplicious Chihambakwe.
Other members include economist Khutula Sibanda, Maxwell Mutema and environmentalist Wilfred Motsi.
The new board faces a Herculean task to clean up loopholes at the scandal ridden institution.
In her latest audit report, Auditor General Mildred Chiri noted anomalies at CMED resulting in massive financial losses.
The previous board was dissolved after investigations made by Zim Morning Post in March exposing the rot obtaining at the Mines ministry which sucked in CMED top officials including board members.
This expose prompted the probing of CMED for undervaluation and hiring of outsourced vehicles for the top Ministry of Mines officials and subsequently the Transport minister Joel Biggie Matiza dissolved the board after consultations with President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“The CID is interested in establishing why the CMED would hire cars sourced from individuals to give the directors after they had purchased official ministry vehicles.
“There is strong suspicion that these cars that were hired belong to individuals who are closely associated or related to top CMED officials. It is clear there is a case of corruption,” revealed our source then.
The board composition appears ‘solid’, although some industry players submitted that it could be a case of ‘changing the picture frame but the picture remaining the same’.
“If you look at the board that Matiza has appointed, you can tell that some of the comrades in that board have strong government ties and were instrumental in contributing and delivering ill advised policies.
“There is guy from Lands ministry, IDBZ and a former judge and surely we need real change,” said an economist who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Sitting in the CMED board is very dangerous because a lot of money exchange hands there.
‘Look at what happened to Denn (Leslie) when he was board chair,” added our source.
In 2016, at the height of the CMED $US3 million fuel scandal investigations the then youthful CMED board chairman and Nemchen (Pvt) Ltd managing director Leslie John Denn was reported to have commited suicide at his Borrowdale house.
However, the matter had a twist the following year with information revealing that Denn was in fact ‘shot dead’ because he was found dead with a bullet wound shot from behind.
The investigating officer, Knowledge Duri, told an inquest at the Harare Magistrates Court in 2017 that there was no possibility that Denn committed suicide.
Initial reports had indicated that Denn shot himself on the upper torso in unclear circumstances and his body was found by his fiancée Ashton Pillary in the house.
He was ‘shot’ at a time there was noise surrounding scandalous fuel deals that bled CMED of $3 million United States Dollars and implicated many big chefs.
According to the State, sometime in February 2013, CMED, through its fuel division, invited companies to bid for the supply and delivery of diesel amounting to five million litres.
It is alleged that four bidders responded by supplying quotations, among them First Oil Company (Private) Limited, represented by Alex Kudakwashe Mahuni and Alloys Nyamadzawo.
On February 22, 2013, First Oil Company was awarded the tender to supply and deliver the fuel to CMED.
It is alleged that to induce payment, Mahuni gave CMED confirmation letters from Petrotrade and National Oil Company of Zimbabwe that they were holding the commodity on behalf of First Oil Company and that the diesel would be released upon payment to their company.
On March 1, 2013 CMED transferred $2,2 million into First Oil Company’s ZB Bank account and six days later, a further $100, 000 was paid to First Oil by CMED.
The State says despite the payment, no diesel was delivered. This resulted in an overall prejudice to CMED of $2,7 million.
Investigations carried out revealed that Mahuni and Maxwell Katunga, being signatories to First Oil Company account, instructed ZB Bank to transfer $2 360 000 from their account to EBG Hong Kong Limited’s bank account number OSA 11013768250901 held by Ping AN Bank Co Limited in China.
According to the State, ZB Bank indicated that the two confirmation letters from Petrotrade and National Oil Company of Zimbabwe were inadequate to facilitate the release of the money as it wanted CMED to have title to the fuel before releasing the money.
On March 5, 2013 CMED, represented by Mhaka and Brian Manjengwa, the then parastatal’s fuels manager, wrote to ZB Bank instructing them to release the money although they had not secured fuel.
The money was then transferred to China and despite numerous follow- ups no fuel was delivered to CMED.
On July 2, 2013 a fraud case was reported to police by CMED leading to the arrest of Mahuni, Katunga and Nyamadzawo under CR Number 457/07/13 and DR Number 30/07/13.
Investigations were conducted and what remained outstanding was to get a confirmation from EBG Hong Kong Limited Bank in China regarding the movement of the money.
It is alleged that in a bid to defeat the course of justice and to conceal the movement and disposal of the money, Mhaka, working in cahoots with Mahuni and Katunga -who are still at large -approached an IT expert in South Africa through Daniel Chidenyu, a Zimbabwean national based in the neighbouring country.
Mhaka requested through Chidenyu that the IT expert, only identified as Pablo, to concoct company registration documents and bank statements reflecting the disposal of the $2,7 million.
In August 2015, the IT expert allegedly produced a document purporting that several transactions were made and that companies named during the transactions existed.
The document was allegedly handed over to Mhaka after being paid 250 000 rand.
The State further heard that, armed with the said document, whose contents Mhaka knew to be false and malicious, presented it to the National Prosecuting Authority so that they would be exonerated from fraud charges.
It is alleged that sometime in November 2015, Mhaka on realising that their fictitious documents were not conclusive, contacted Chidenyu and instructed him to make closed circuit television footages purportedly showing one Killiana Bangure and Fanuel Kapanje withdrawing the fraudulently acquired funds from the bank.
Chidenyu reportedly turned him down citing that he had not been paid for the previous transaction.
Police carried out investigations into the authenticity of the document through Interpol and it was confirmed that all the accounts and companies mentioned in the document did not exist.
On February 23, Chidenyu came in Zimbabwe where he volunteered the information to the police and a statement was recorded.
In light of the foregoing, the accused person defeated the course of justice, lied before the court and concealed the movement of stolen money, the State heard.
It is alleged that sometime in November 2015, Mhaka on realising that their fictitious documents were not conclusive, contacted Chidenyu and instructed him to make fake closed circuit television footages .
It is against this background that the new board has stepped into ‘Godzilla’s shoes’ and need to work extremely hard to clean the rot at CMED.
Please find hereunder the new CMED board:
New CMED board unpacked.
Tamara Stevenson
She is a media shy experienced software engineer and she is the chairperson of the board.
Maxwell Mutema
Dr Mutema is a property (real estate) and construction management expert. He is passionate about property development and investment.
He holds several qualifications in real estate, land management and construction management from top international institutions. He is a Fellow of the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers (FZweIE) and is a professional member of several key professional bodies, both local and international, that have to do with real estate/property, land management, construction management, rural and urban planning.
He is a qualified chartered surveyor.
Simplicious Chihambakwe
A very popular lawyer and former chairperson of the Zimbabwe Commission of Inquiry into the Matabeleland Disturbances also known as the Chihambakwe Commission of Enquiry .He is a senior partner and Chairman of ‘CMP legal practitioners.
He is chairman and director of various companies, and is a past President of the Law Society of Zimbabwe and past chairman of the Compensation Fund of the Law Society of Zimbabwe .
He is a member of the Southern African Development Community Lawyers Association, African Bar Association, the International Bar Association and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association. He is also a member of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (the ICSID). He is an active investor, who plays quite a role in investing for himself, and gives private lectures on investments, which has helped a lot of people.
His inclusion in the board is likely to add value and transparency in the scandal ridden institution.
Khutula Sibanda
An economist of repute, Sibanda is the former chief economist and head of strategy at IBDZ and his knowledge of economic is expected to p[lug lopholes at CMED which Auditor General Mildred Chiri noted in her latest report that CMED was prone to major financial loss.
Wilfred Motsi
An environmentalist and chief environment officer in the Lands Ministry.
CMED deals with fuel and needs an environmental expert in its board
Tsinga Dube
The oldest of the pack, Tsinga is former War Veterans minister and ex-Makokoba legislator .
He is known for simplicity and being outspoken.
