THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) secretariat is clashing over implementation of recommendations made in an audit report, amid revelations that some of the top brass was implicated in irregular activities during the tendering process, Zim Morning Post can reveal.
The audit report, done after the 2018 elections, is believed to be inundated with serious flaws that pertain to the procurement of electoral materials.
The report is said to have recommended a strict tendering process by the electoral body in order to avoid loss of money, but the bosses appear to have ignored the advice.
Sources within the electoral body say some of the bosses used elections to enrich themselves, awarding tenders to their own companies (or affiliates) to supply election material without following laid down procedures.
Sources allege that lucrative contracts were being awarded to colleagues and relatives of the electoral body’s top brass at inflated prices and would in turn get some kickbacks.
The recommendations also warned against the awarding of tenders to some unscrupulous suppliers who had no capacity to supply materials on time, at times forcing Zec to do double purchases of electoral materials.
“There are known companies that could not supply materials in time and some of them even supplied materials after elections. In the end we had to order from another supplier to cover that gap,” said the source.
During the 2018 elections, the Zec secretariat was accused of hiring out equipment at extortionist prices rather that make procurement of materials which they would use in future elections.
The audit report is yet to be made public to determine the exact amount of money government was prejudiced of, with insiders saying the State may have lost substantial amounts of money.
Zec has always been a subject of discussion after every election.
In 2013, two internal audit reports – one done soon after the 2013 referendum and another after the July 31 elections – revealed anomalies in the use of funds by some senior Zec officials.
