Outspoken Norton legislator Temba Mliswa has accused Local Government Minister July Moyo of misleading President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s cabinet into awarding the multimillion dollar Pomona Waste to Energy tender to “his cronies”.
Mliswa asked why the police were yet to arrest Moyo following his involvement in shady deals that involve looting of taxpayer’s money.
Moyo was at the centre when City of Harare (COH) gave Pomona dumpsite for free to a company linked to dodgy businessman Delish Nguwaya and shadowy company Geogenix B.V.
The US$344 million contract was forwarded without going to tender. The company is expected to turn waste into energy. COH is paying US$22 000 per day.
The deal was signed while substantive Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume was strategically suspended by Moyo. When Mafume led CCC councillors to terminate the deal, Moyo said the move could not happen because the deal had been endorsed by cabinet.
Mliswa believes Moyo has been misleading cabinet into approving such deals. He questioned why the police had not arrested the Midlands based politician.
“Why should the Commissioner General of the Police wait for someone to make a formal report of these cases. These are cases where the National Prosecuting Authority must spring into action as soon as they sniff them,” Mliswa said.
“If these organisations cannot protect the public from corrupt officials, particularly Ministers, then we are doomed.
“Circumventing the tender processes must understandably be done in emergency procurement situations. Minister Moyo’s modus operandi seems to be misleading the Cabinet in awarding of contracts to his cronies.
He further stated: “Alternatively, he abuses his position in forcing councils and giving orders to his proxies. In his world there are no limits as to what he must do. The most worrying thing is that he is openly conflicted and he is not bothered at all.
“Besides, the institutions that are supposed to rein in Moyo, one wonders why he has the temerity to do such acts in the full glare of his appointing authorities. The question becomes, is Moyo doing it with the blessings and authority from his superiors??
“If not, why are they not acting? One can only imagine how difficult it is to investigate a serving Minister. This compromises the investigations and one cannot rule out intimidation, interference etc.”
Mliswa said Zanu-PF needed to rein in their Moyo.
“Our Government architecture is such that Ministers get seconded from the party and in this case Zanu PF. Under normal circumstances one would expect Zanu-PF to be making the most noise regarding Minister Moyo’s corrupt tendencies but they’re mum.
“Is it because the party has embraced corruption as a way of life? How do they expect to stand in front of the masses with such a dirty image? Not even a petty thief would like to marry a corrupt lady.
“The Pomona Waste to Energy Projectis grossly overrated and overpriced as a power generation project but the government is acting like it’s all normal.
“For your information, the peak load for Harare is about 500MW, and that plant (15MW) cannot supply the suburb of Eastlea at peak loading. The purported cost of $240M for 15MW is scandalous beyond belief.
“Below are comparative projects that could be constructed and commissioned with $240M USD: 1) 100MW coal fired power plant, 2) 250MW solar plant 3) 120MW hydro power plant (mini Kariba). You can see how such a plant shouldn’t cost more than US$30M,” Mliswa added.
