TIMB boss remanded in custody over US$539k loan

TOBACCO Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) board chairperson Patrick Devenish and the organisation’s former chief executive officer Meanwell Gudu appeared at the Harare magistrates court on Saturday charged with criminal abuse of office after they extended a US$397 000 loan to a local company owned by Masuka family.

The duo was remanded in custody to today for bail application by Harare regional magistrate Sandra Mupindu.

Devenish and Gudu were arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.

 According to the State, Devenish is a public officer and his duties, among others, include leading the board and focusing it on strategic matters, overseeing the company’s business, setting high governance standards and approving all contracts with values above US$50 000 through a board resolution.

 Gudu is also a public officer and his duties, among others, include executing and implementing operational strategies, policies and procedures in support of the company’s goals and objectives.

 It is alleged that sometime in May 2021, Devenish and Gudu working in common purpose and with the intention to defraud TIMB granted a loan of US$397 739,51 to Ultimate Accolade (Private) Limited owned by the Masuka family without the knowledge of other TIMB board members and a board resolution.

The State alleges that the two generated two contract agreements where they misrepresented that the loan was being granted under the Tobacco Inputs Credit Scheme funded by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) well aware that the funding of the Tobacco Inputs Credit Scheme by RBZ had been stopped.

 lt is alleged that at the time of the signing of the two contract agreements, Gudu, who was out of office, instructed special projects manager Lovemore Chikweya to take the contracts to acting chief operations officer Blessing Dhokotera for him to sign on his behalf.

When Dhokotera asked Gudu over the phone, whether he was aware of the two contract agreements in the name of Ultimate Accolade (Private) Limited brought to him by Chikweya, Gudu acknowledged and told Dhokotera that the contracts were for special projects and very urgent.

Dhokotera believing that the loan was indeed being given under the Tobocco Inputs Credit Scheme as indicated on the contracts signed as directed by Gudu.

After the contracts were signed, from time to time the special projects department raised internal memos requesting the release of funds for the implementation of the said project and Dhokotera would be asked to recommend them for approval by Gudu.

As a result of the misrepresentation that the granting of the loan facility to Ultimate Accolade (Private) Limited had been done procedurally and authorised by the board, a total of US$397 739,51 in loans was granted to the company.

lt is alleged that from 2021 to late 2023 no effort was made to recover the loan from Ultimate Accolade (Private) Limited and the company did not make an effort to pay back.

The State alleges that the board members only came to know about the loan late in 2023 after it was brought to the attention of the board by the current acting chief executive officer Emmanuel Matsvaire in a full board meeting.

The board then tasked the executive management to recover the said debt from Ultimate Accolade (Private) Limited.

The loan account of Ultimate Accolade (Private) Limited presented to the board indicated that only US$16 000 was recovered this year from a total debt of US$539 650,50.

 Gudu is also facing another charge of corruptly concealing from principals a personal interest in a transaction.

 According to court documents, in 2018 TIMB sourced funding to supply small-scale tobacco farmers with the inputs and it contracted several transport companies to ferry the inputs from Harare for distribution to the said farmers across all the provinces of Zimbabwe.

Among the transport companies contracted by TIMB for the transport services was a company by the name Mukanya Jeremiah Logistics.

After contracting Mukanya Jeremiah Logistics, Gudu then used his wife to orchestrate a deal with Mukanya Jeremiah Logistics to place his eight trucks under Mukanya Jeremiah Logistics to ferry the tobacco inputs and in return they would pay Mukanya Jeremiah Logistics a 10% fee of the total amount paid by TIMB for the accused’s transport services.

 Mukanya Jeremiah Logistics, Iike all the transporters, was contracted on the basis that it would be paid US$1 per kilometre.

  Mukanya Jeremiah Logistics was advised by the accused to write to him asking for an upward review of the charge to US$1,90 per kilometre.

Meanwhile, also arrested is TIMB company secretary Tariro Chitsunge who is being charged together with Devenish on criminal abuse of office.

The State alleged that their accomplice Willard Zidyambanje, a  chief finance officer, is still at large.

Allegations are that on August 18, last year Chitsunge raised an internal purchase requisition for seven  cellphones and seven laptops.

The State alleges that in line with procedure TIMB placed a tender advert for the supply and delivery of cellphones, tablets and laptops in the Government Gazette on August 25, 2023 inviting the public to participate in the competitive bidding process.

On September 22 an evaluation meeting was conducted with only one bidder Craig Computers having participated in the tender.

 However, Craig Computers was not compliant with the competitive bidding requirements.

 lt is alleged that the PMU bought goods worth US$8 310,10 from Solution Centre and US$20 644,80 from Celltrade Electronics.

 This did not go down well with the accused persons as they wanted all the gadgets to be procured from Solution Centre.

On October 20, Chitsunge wrote an email to Moud Tsikayi indicating that Devenish had inquired with Solution Centre and he found out that they had all the gadgets which TIMB intended to procure.

Chitsunge requested the head procurement manager to immediately write a report justifying her actions and threatened her for not following orders.

When the accused person directed procurement activities in the manner they did, they acted contrary and inconsistent with their duties as none of them, in terms of the said Act, was mandated to partake in procurement activities.

The State alleges that the accused favoured Solution Centre which was more expensive thereby prejudicing TIMB.