HARARE – The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) has admitted to losing a staggering US$74,500 to car dealer Duly’s Motors in 2017, after making payment for vehicles that were never delivered, with the Auditor General’s report revealing that the authority is still awaiting delivery of the vehicles and an additional US$3,720 transformer that was also not delivered.
ZINARA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nkosinathi Ncube appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts to explain the situation. He attributed the issue to a botched bank transfer during the country’s transition from USD to local currency.
“The transfer from our bank to Duly’s bank was made in USD, but the bank debited RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement), which resulted in a loss of value,” Ncube explained.
“Duly’s claimed the funds were inadequate, and they didn’t deliver the vehicles.”
The committee chair, Charlton Hwende, expressed concern over the irregularities and tasked the ZINARA Board to address corporate governance issues and procurement violations flagged by a forensic report by Grant Thornton.
“We want to get to the bottom of this,” Hwende said. “Suppliers like these are supplying various government departments, doing the same thing. We need to address this.”
The committee vowed to investigate the matter further to ensure accountability and transparency in government transactions.
Last year, former ZINARA CEO Frank Chitukutuku and his wife Nyasha lost their luxury properties and assets worth millions, including two houses, vehicles, tractors, and shares in two businesses, after the High Court granted the State’s application for civil forfeiture.
The properties were acquired using proceeds of corruption during Chitukutuku’s tenure at ZINARA. Although he had been acquitted of criminal corruption charges a few months before, the civil court found him liable for forfeiture based on the balance of probabilities.
The forfeiture includes a 10-tonne truck, four vehicles, three John Deere tractors, and two Kia tractors, among other properties. However, the court spared some assets, including a farm and two houses.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had sought civil forfeiture of almost all of Chitukutuku’s assets, alleging that they were bought with corrupt funds.
