Chitungwiza Municipality Quantity Surveyor convict...

Chitungwiza Municipality Quantity Surveyor convicted

Michael Mashiri

ZIM NOW REPORTER

Chitungwiza Municipality Quantity Surveyor, Tendai Mandihlare, has been fined US$300 for allegedly lying to the Council to pay ZWL$1.1 million to a certain company for hiring its vehicle yet it was false.

Mandihlare, of Zengeza 3, appeared before magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka at the Harare Magistrates' Courts charged with fraud.

Mandihlare was convicted of the charge and his 10 months' imprisonment was suspended on condition that he does not commit a similar offence in the next five years.

The complainant is the local authority, represented by Japson Nemuseso, Chamber Secretary at Chitungwiza Municipality.

Mandihlare was under the Roads Section in the Works Department.

His duties were to prepare a bill of quantity, and preparing acquittals for grants received in the roads section.

The State, through prosecutor Ephraim Zinyandu, alleges that in May 2021 Chitungwiza Municipality sought to undertake road rehabilitation under the ERRP Phase 1 and 2 funded by a Zimbabwe National Roads Administration grant.

The project focused on the rehabilitation of Maeresa and Gura Roads in Chitungwiza

The local authority hired two tipper trucks from Ripcare Investments Pvt Ltd to ferry gravel to construction sites and payments were processed on five-day cycles as the jobs were being completed.

The vehicle AFJ 1301 together with the other vehicle AFJ 3375 commenced work on the May 7, 2021 and Chitungwiza Municipality assigned its general hands to perform time-keeping duties so that it could keep track of the time that the hired vehicles were being used.

For the first week, both vehicles were recorded to be used for the intended purpose as shown by valid time sheets that were submitted by the assigned timekeepers.

The timesheets formed the foundation of the payment made to Ripcare Investments Pvt Ltd, as they confirmed the contractor's performance.

The State alleges that, due to non-payment, Sam Bee Logistics withdrew the vehicle AFJ 1301 that had been subcontracted by Ripcare Investments Pvt Ltd after ten days of work.

Investigations revealed that during the period when the vehicles were hired Chitungwiza Municipality assigned general hands Nyasha Chirumiko, Gift Nyamakambo and Method Mutabeni to do time-keeping duties and they produced log sheets and submitted them to Mandihlare for further processing.

Mandihlare, as part of his duties, was supposed to prepare daily plant return- hired tipper timesheets using the general hands' log sheets to confirm that the tipper truck AFJ 1301 indeed provided service to Chitungwiza Municipality.

However, Mandihlare disregarded the general hands' log sheets by preparing Daily Plant Return - Hired Tipper Timesheets that purported that vehicle AFJ 1301 had provided services to Chitungwiza Municipality yet it was not true.

It is alleged that Mandihlare misrepresented to his superiors by falsely reporting that vehicle AFJ 1301 had been providing service from May 17, 2021 to June 31, 2021, to Chitungwiza Municipality yet he knew very well that the vehicle had not provided any service as it had been withdrawn by its owners, SamBee Investments.

The Daily Plant Return - Hired Tipper sheets for vehicle AFJ 1301 were then submitted to Finance Director for payment and the payments were made through a series of transaction that totaled $1 190 800.

Council suffered a prejudice of ZWL$1 190 800 and nothing was recovered.