CONTROVERSIAL businessmen Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe, who are currently languishing in remand prison over a US$7 million fraud charge, allegedly used the same modus operandi to receive funds for projects at the Harare City Council and failed to deliver on their promises, it has emerged.
Chimombe (43) and Mpofu (49) were arraigned before the courts for allegedly defrauding the government in the goat-gate scandal and were remanded in custody until tomorrow for bail application continuation.
According to sources at Town House, the pair used similar methods to allegedly swindle Harare City Council through Mpofu’s Synlak (Pvt) Limited.
Mpofu has been reportedly working with cartels at the local authority before his arrest.
NewsDay is in possession of an audit report conducted by council recently which alleges that Mpofu has been over paid in some deals.
Mpofu’s company was allegedly awarded a tender at HCC despite failing to deliver in several other projects after being “overpaid”.
“Synlak failed to deliver the crematorium unit as agreed in the contract and it should be noted that Synlak Private Limited was awarded the contract despite the same company having an outstanding contract which was yet to be delivered, that is one Biogas digester contract number COH/DHCS/S.9/2015,” read the audit report.
In September 2015, council signed a memorandum of agreement for the design and construction of four biogas digesters and the supply, installation and commissioning of a 100kVA biogas generator.
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The company was given US$465 290 to construct the Mbare biogas digester in 2015.
The project was meant to help tackle the waste management challenges in the high-density suburb of Mbare and surrounding areas.
The company failed to fulfil the contract.
A year later, Mpofu won a contract to remove an old crematorium, supply, deliver, install and commission a new crematorium unit and ancillary equipment and a standby generator at Warren Hills Cemetery crematorium under tender number COH/DHCS/S2/2016.
The audit stated that Mpofu’s company also failed to deliver the crematorium unit despite being paid.
“The advance payment agreed was US$148 281 yet a total payment of US$338 281 was made indicating an overpayment of US$190 000.
“The payment made is not appropriate to the work done so far; neither did the audit get evidence of the basis of payment as provided for in the agreements in the above key deliveries,” read part of the audit.
Harare mayor Jacob Mafume recently went ballistic after Mpofu and Chimombe won a tender to supply street lights to the City of Harare.
Addressing a special full council meeting last week, Mafume exposed the duo’s shenanigans at Town House.
Meanwhile, Harare Residents Ratepaters Trust executive director Precious Shumba has said council is now a crime scene.
“Harare City is now a crime scene where cartels thrive, those who are offside are not held accountable but everyone at council knows who are the dealers but they are walking scot free, the cartels are milking our ratepayers’ money,” he said.
Contacted for comment, Mafume said he was not yet at Town House when officials entered into the biogas and crematorium deals with Mpofu and Chimombe.
“Yes, I was told of the biogas and Warren Hills crematorium, but I was not yet at Harare City Council,” he said.
