Zimpapers Logo

Temba Dube Deputy News Editor
THIEVES broke into Mpilo Central Hospital’s accounts offices in a bid to steal documents relating to a damning audit that has resulted in four senior officials being suspended from the institution, officials have confirmed.

The hospital’s board chairperson Sichelesile Moyo-Ncube yesterday said the break-in is suspected to have occurred on Sunday night.

“We think the target was the documents that were audited by PNA Chartered Accountants recently. Fortunately, the documents were moved to a secure location recently,” said Moyo-Ncube.

She said the board on Friday changed padlocks to the offices as a precautionary measure after suspending Mpilo Central Hospital chief executive officer Dr Lawrence Mantiziba, operations director Duduza Regina Moyo and chairperson of the central buying unit Mxolisi Sibanda.

Finance director Charles Govo was suspended yesterday morning.

The four will go without pay for three months while an extensive audit is carried out at one of the country’s largest referral hospitals.

Moyo-Ncube said work was in progress to determine what had been stolen.

“At this stage it’s difficult to comment on what could have been taken as the bulk of the hospital’s records are kept in the offices.

“I can only say the PNA records that form the basis of the wider audit weren’t there for the thieves to steal. So far no one has been arrested,” said Moyo-Ncube.

She said screen doors to the offices were bent or cut as the thieves ransacked all the rooms that housed records at the offices.

Sources at the hospital told The Chronicle that the entire staff in the accounting department was picked up by police for questioning yesterday.

“They were questioned, fingerprinted and their statements were recorded. The last one was released from Barbourfields Police Station at around 7PM. This could show desperation on the part of people guilty of bleeding the hospital’s finances,” said an official, who could not be named for professional reasons.

The official said it was the general feeling at the hospital that someone was trying to cover their tracks.

“There’re corrupt people here. Runners for top officials or the bosses themselves could be involved. I think those people wanted to destroy records used in compiling the audit that showed millions were being siphoned from the hospital’s coffers,” said the official.

“They could also have been on a mission to plant documents that would influence the outcome of future audits. Records for paid and unpaid invoices are kept in those offices.”

On Friday, the Health Services Board approved the suspension of the four officials and appointed Ingutsheni Central Hospital CEO Leonard Mabhandi to be in charge of Mpilo Central Hospital for the duration of the audit.

The Chronicle lifted the lid on the alleged corruption in February, when a $3 million tender, which had been awarded to Bulawayo businessman Ashton Mpofu’s New Planet Company, was cancelled after Mpofu allegedly refused to bribe Mantiziba and Moyo.

Moyo alleged Mpofu threatened to harm her, following the cancellation and requested a bodyguard. The tender – according to the audit report – had been illegally and unnecessarily split into smaller tenders.

The auditors said if the contract had been given to one company, it would have cost approximately $1,049 million.

After being split up, it ended up costing more than $2 million.

“This could have been avoided had the operations director and her team performed due diligence checks on suppliers to ensure they have the necessary capacity to supply goods and services,” read the report.

“There are indications that the operations director is colluding with suppliers as some information on tenders seems to be availed to certain suppliers only.”

Mpofu was awarded the tender to refurbish the hospital’s radiotherapy centre towards the end of 2012.

The scope of the tender ranged from providing new equipment, to re-tiling the floors and painting the walls.

The cancer unit was closed for the duration of the project, forcing cancer patients in the southern region to travel to Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare for treatment.

The southern region covers Bulawayo, Masvingo, Midlands, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South.

The project was supposed to be completed in September 2013.

The deadline has been moved at least three times with the latest being February this year.