By A Correspondent| Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Potraz) director general, Gift Machengete’s bid to temporarily get his passport back for three weeks for government travel was turned down by a Harare magistrate.
The former Central Intelligence Director is facing charges of violating the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (General) Regulations 2018 prejudicing the state of over $1 million.
He had applied for a temporary release of his passport to travel to Tanzania for a workshop and subsequently an Annual General Meeting between today and the 30th of this month. The regulatory boss further requested for a further two weeks until April the 16th on unspecificied government business.
This Monday, Harare magistrate Hosea Mujaya ordered him to return the passport on March 30 before a judgement on his application challenging prosecution will be handed down.
Machengete wanted a longer time out of the country but prosecutor Zivanai Macharaga opposed his application on grounds that he had no cabinet approval.
“The accused has not brought cabinet approval to show that he is travelling on government business beyond the 30th of April, until he avails that document, the state challenges his application,” said the prosecutor.
Machengete on his last court appearance applied for charges levelled against him to be dropped after the State altered its charge sheet.
Machengete was facing criminal abuse of office charges but the charge has now been changed to “induce a procuring entity to engage in procurement by a method that is prohibited by the Act.”
Machengete now argues that the new charge does not show a criminal offence.
The ruling was scheduled for this Monday but was postponed after the state indicated that it has not yet filed its submissions responding to Machengete’s claims.
Allegations are that sometime in December 2017, Potraz, a procuring entity, resolved to procure village information centres (CVICs) which were going to be mounted countrywide.
In February 2018, Machengete allegedly wrote to the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) requesting a waiver of procurement regulations to enable the organisation to purchase CVICs through quotations for reasons that it was a specialised area.
The procurement body insisted that Machengete follows laid down procedures in section 30 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act.
A week later Machengete went ahead with his plan and directed Potraz to subsequently purchase the 24 CVICs from B Smart business solutions at $70 682.95 each making a total value of $ 1 494 104, 33 through comparative schedule.
The court heard B Smart Solutions has since erected 20 CVICs and the accused has already approved payments amounting to $1 032 755. 38 without going through the competitive bid procedures.