US$9k Per Laptop Tender: Kennedy Chokuda Arrested
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) says it has arrested the Clerk of Parliament, Kennedy Mugove Chokuda, for approving a US$9K per laptop tender.
The tender was awarded to Blinart Investments but was eventually cancelled following public outrage.
ZACC says Chokuda’s actions constituted Criminal Abuse of Duty as a Public Officer.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development issued statements to the effect that it had cancelled two tenders to supply laptops and desktops arguing that the suppliers had overpriced the commodities.
Blinart Investments which had been awarded the tender to supply laptops was selling each laptop at USD9 264.49 and the government would have paid US$1 602 755.77 for 173 laptops.
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The other company, Mid-End Computers and Hardware (P/L), demanded US$243 052.36 for 79 desktops as each was priced at USD3 076.61.
Members of the public criticised Parliament for awarding the tender saying this was grand corruption.
It also emerged that some companies, Lacheln for instance, submitted bids for the Laptop tender at Parliament for as low as $213 655 but Parliament opted for Blinart which had tendered for $1.6 million.
Blinart’s managing director, Elizabeth Muchenje, has since appeared before Parliament to explain how the company levied US$9 264.49 per laptop to the Parliament of Zimbabwe.
Addressing the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) committee, Muchenje said the laptop prices reached a price of US$9 264.49 each because they were high-end laptops with seven other accessories per laptop.
Muchenje said there was the HP Spectra 32GB laptop, Laptop Stand, Laptop Backup, HDMI Adapter, USB Adapter, Wireless Mouse HP, Laptop pouch, and Microsoft Professional Office 2019.
