HARARE – Karoi Town Council ordered 84 safety harnesses and an extension step ladder but the supplier delivered bond paper of far lesser value to “cover up the misappropriation,” parliament heard on Tuesday.
The revelation was made as the local authority’s audited 2020 accounts were presented in parliament.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts flagged the transaction and recommended prosecutions.
“The council procured an extension ladder and 84 safety harnesses for US$1,100 on November 29, 2018. However, the items were never delivered. Instead, the supplier delivered 48 reams of bond paper on April 8, 2019, citing a lack of capacity to supply the original items,” a report by the committee stated.
The committee noted there was no documentation authorising the substitution or accounting for the cost discrepancy.
“The cost of the bond paper does not match the US$1,100 paid. The committee believes the arrangement was likely a cover-up for misappropriation,” the report added.
It recommended the matter be referred to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) for investigation by June 30, 2025.
Commenting on the matter, Mashonaland West MP Mutsa Murombedzi (CCC) said: “This is not just an accounting error but this is theft, and let us name it as such.”
The report also highlighted the non-delivery of a refuse truck purchased from Solution Motors. The company, the committee noted, has a history of failing to deliver vehicles after receiving payment from public institutions.
As a result, it recommended Solution Motors and any of its rebranded entities be permanently blacklisted from supplying vehicles to government entities.
The committee also found that Karoi council operates a beerhall on a cash-basis with no tills, no banking and no records.
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