eBusiness Weekly
fails to declare interests on Intratek case
Hebert Zharare
The Zimbabwe Anti – Corruption Commission (ZACC) is keen on questioning Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) chairman Stanly Kazhanje, on allegations he prepared tender documents for businessman Wicknell Chivhaya’s company, Intratek, but failed to declare his vested interests to other board members.
Reports say Kazhanje, through his engineering consulting firm, Terminal Engineers (Pvt) Ltd, prepared tender documents for Intratek, that went on to receive the board’s greenlight to implement the $200 million Gwanda 100 megawatt solar power project.
However, when Kazhanje’s board suspended ZPC managing director Noah Gwariro on December 12 last for 90 days to pave way for investigations into how the power company was paid Intratek without a guarantee, a war of words erupted.
Gwariro also informed the board that Intratek payment was made under undue pressure from former Energy and Power Development Minister Samuel Undenge, who has another case pending before the courts after being arrested by ZACC over another matter involving alleged abuse of office.
A ZACC official that cannot be named for professional reasons, revealed to Business Weekly this week that the anti-graft body suspected that the deal was not clean, adding there was a need to get to the bottom of the matter.
“There are moves we are making against chairman of the Zimbabwe Power Company (Kazhanje) who drafted a plan (tender documents) for Chivhayo, then he became chairman of ZPC, and then ZPC gave a contract to Chivhayo, That is corruption of the highest order,” he said.
Intratek is yet to start work on the project almost two years down the line despite receiving an advance of $7 million under these circumstances. Earlier on it was reported that Intratek was given $5 million in advance, but turned out the correct amount extended is $7 million.
In a letter to the board incriminating Kazhanje and reportedly prepared by his lawyers Hogwe, Dzimirai and Partners, Gwariro reportedly nailed his boss.
“We address you at the instance of our above-mentioned client and refer to your letter dated 12 December 2017. From the instructions we have, it is apparent that you have a massive conflict of interest on account of the following factors.
“Prior to your appointment a (s) ZPC Board chairman, you were contracted to Intratek through your company called Terminal Engineers (Pvt) Ltd. You even prepared the tender documents for the Gwanda Project on behalf of Intratek.
“Notwithstanding the foregoing, you never declared your conflict of interest to the Board at several meetings that deliberated on the Gwanda project,” reads the letter.
It is against this backdrop that ZACC revealed to Business Weekly that no stone was going to be left unturned in the Kazhanje and Intratek saga.
The National Economic Conduct Inspectorate (NECI) has also ordered Intratek to avail several documents signed with ZPC, resulting in the firm being paid a US$5 million pre-commencement fee for the project without a bank guarantee.
NECI wrote to Intratek on December 7 requesting to be furnished with several documents that would assist in their investigation.
NECI is a Government arm whose mandate is to carry out compliance checks of companies to ensure that the country is not prejudiced through prejudicial transfer pricing, as well as unfair business practices such as externalisation of funds
