The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has arrested former City of Harare Chamber Secretary Josphine Ncube and ex-Director of Works Phillip Mabingo Pfukwa on fraud and abuse of office charges related to a €350,500 (US$465,290) European Union (EU) grant meant for the Mbare Biogas Project.
Ncube and Pfukwa, who appeared before the Harare Magistrate Court, were remanded on $400 bail and are set to return to court on May 14.
Prosecutors allege the two former city officials manipulated procurement procedures to award a lucrative contract to a company without the requisite experience leading to massive financial losses for the city.
The allegations trace back to 2013 when the EU provided a €350,500 grant to the City of Harare to construct biogas digesters and install a 100KVA biogas generator in Mbare.
The initiative was aimed at providing a sustainable energy solution for waste management in one of Harare’s most densely populated suburbs.
In 2015, the city purportedly launched a public tender process as required under the now-repealed Procurement Act (Chapter 22:14).
However, investigations revealed that Pfukwa and Ncube allegedly circumvented standard procedures and unlawfully awarded the contract, valued at US$465,290, to Synlak Investments (Pvt) Limited—a company owned by businessman Moses Mpofu.
Despite receiving full payment, Synlak Investments (Pvt) Limited allegedly failed to deliver on the project.
The incomplete work resulted in financial prejudice to the City of Harare with the promised biogas infrastructure never materialising.
