THE continued emergence of politically-connected individuals who profiteer from securing government contracts despite lacking the capacity to execute them, commonly known as tenderpreneurs, has turned out to be a major corruption concern within the country’s public procurement system.
The issue dominated discussions in Harare yesterday at a breakfast meeting organised by Transparency International Zimbabwe, which brought together key justice sector institutions to reflect on anti-corruption efforts and strengthen collaboration in combating graft.
The engagement was attended by officials from the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe, the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs ministry, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Zimbabwe Republic Police, as well as other stakeholders.
It sought to sustain the momentum generated through previous interventions by promoting dialogue, relationship building and strategic reflection among justice sector institutions.
The meeting also served as a platform to consolidate gains achieved through previous anti-corruption initiatives, encourage knowledge sharing and explore sustainable approaches to institutionalising collaboration beyond project support.
Chief Nhema, born Rangarirai Bwawanda, raised concern about the prevalence of tenderpreneurs.
“There are people who are connected. They get tenders in the construction sector, for instance, when they do not have the equipment or capacity to do the jobs,” he said.
“They then subcontract capable companies but retain part of the money for themselves.
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“This results in financial leakages and there is always a danger of shoddy work being done.”
Concern was raised that the practice continues to drain public resources and undermine service delivery, with fears that projects awarded under such arrangements may fail to meet required standards.
However, officials from the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs ministry argued that procurement reforms introduced through the Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act and the establishment of the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Praz) had significantly reduced opportunities for abuse.
“We had those challenges before the Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act.
“Then came Praz, which established standards and regulations that all procurement entities are expected to follow.
“The framework has helped to address many of those challenges,” a ministry official said.
The meeting also heard concerns over resource constraints being faced by the police, with Chief Nhema warning that inadequate transport and operational equipment were compromising law enforcement efforts, particularly in rural areas.
He said some police officers were forced to rely on transport provided by the public, a situation that could expose them to undue influence and compromise investigations.
“In some areas, a single vehicle services several communities,” Chief Nhema said.
“In rural districts, perpetrators are aware of these limitations and may take advantage of them. It becomes difficult to effectively combat corruption under such circumstances.”
However, national police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi dismissed claims that police stations are operating without vehicles.
“For your own information, every police station in the country has an operational vehicle, unless otherwise. This is one of the areas which the Commissioner-General of Police, Stephen Mutamba, has addressed,” Nyathi said.
“I am surprised when people say police stations have no cars and are asking for vehicles from the public.
“There may be instances where members of the public assist police operations, but that does not mean the police have no vehicles.”
Nyathi said the government recently strengthened the police fleet through the acquisition of 500 motorcycles, which have since been distributed across the country.
“Some stations have a minimum of two motorcycles, while others have five or 10,” he said.
“As we speak, the government is in the process of acquiring 200 vehicles for the police.”
