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Temba Dube Deputy News Editor
A TEAM of auditors have completed a seven-day forensic investigation into the tender system at Mpilo Central Hospital, with residents calling on the Health Ministry to act on their findings.

The hospital’s board ordered the investigation following allegations of unprocedural cancellation of a $3 million tender awarded by the hospital to Bulawayo businessman, Ashton Mpofu.

Mpofu made the allegations while responding to reports that he threatened the hospital’s director of operations, Duduza Regina Moyo with death for cancelling his tender to revamp the institution’s cancer ward.

He alleged that instead it was Moyo who solicited a bribe from him saying it was on behalf of Mpilo Central Hospital chief executive officer, Dr Lawrence Mantiziba so that the termination of his tender could be stopped.

Mpilo Central Hospital board chairperson Sichelesile Moyo-Ncube yesterday said local accounting firm PNA Accountants had completed their investigations.

She declined to disclose the result saying the board would deliberate on it today before sending recommendations to the Ministry of Health and Childcare.

“The Minister (Dr David Parirenyatwa) will comment after receiving the report. I’m sorry I can’t comment at this point,” said Moyo-Ncube.

Bulawayo residents said the board was doing a wonderful job of fighting corruption at the hospital.

They said Dr Parirenyatwa should complement the board’s efforts by acting on the report and making the audit team’s findings public to promote transparency.

Bulawayo United Residents Association (Bura) chairperson Winos Dube said the board had shown commitment to investors and development partners at Mpilo Central Hospital by ordering an audit.

“Over the years, we’ve been reading stories of corruption at the hospital. No action has ever been taken in terms of an extensive investigation. This board has done what other boards have failed to do in the last 20 years or so. It’s marvellous that they’ve shaken things up barely four months after coming into office,” said Dube.

He said the time had come to prove whether corruption that is being whispered about exists at the hospital.

Dube said it was up to the Ministry of Health and Childcare to take decisive action on the outcome of the investigation to encourage development partners to continue supporting the hospital.

“It has become the norm for damaging reports to end up on ministers’ desks without action being taken. We hope the Health Ministry will not sit on this one,” he said.

Dube added: “It’s pointless to have auditors investigating the same thing and coming up with the same recommendations that are always ignored. We hope there will be change this time.”

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association coordinator Roderick Fayayo said the board had done well by bringing independent assessors.

“As an organisation we once met Dr Mantiziba to discuss allegations of corruption at Mpilo. He told us he was being persecuted because he was fighting wrongdoers. We’re happy that an independent audit has been done. The truth will come out,” said Fayayo.

He said graft allegations had existed at Mpilo Central Hospital for a long time and relevant authorities seemed reluctant to act.

“Reports of corruption have existed for a long time with recommendations from various audits being ignored. We now suspect the responsible ministry is deliberately doing this as part of an agenda to marginalise Matabeleland. They seem to want the hospital, which caters for the whole of the southern region, to collapse,” said Fayayo.

He challenged Dr Parirenyatwa to prove him wrong by publicising the report and acting on it.

“It would be good to know who has been given tenders and if they’ve been able to deliver. This board is just what the country needed. They hit the ground running and started working on the first day they came into office,” he said.

Bulawayo’s Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Eunice Nomthandazo Moyo declined to comment saying she needed more information on the issue.

The city’s mayor, Councillor Martin Moyo said he could not talk about the hospital as it did not fall under council’s jurisdiction.

Last week Moyo-Ncube said the willingness of partners to develop the hospital hinged on transparency.

She said: “The board would like to assure Bulawayo residents and the rest of the country that it aims to improve patient care at the hospital by bringing sanity to management.”

The chairperson said the board had adopted zero tolerance to corruption and would leave no stone unturned in eradicating it if it existed at the hospital.

Moyo-Ncube said depending on the findings, more investigations could be carried out.

Moyo opened a pandora’s box when she wrote to Dr Mantiziba on February 11, requesting for a bodyguard.

She said she felt unsafe after Mpofu allegedly threatened her following the cancellation of the tender awarded to his New Planet Company.

The tender to refurbish the cancer unit and supply cancer treatment machinery was about 90 percent complete at the time of termination.

Mpofu responded by accusing Moyo of soliciting a bribe from him on behalf of Dr Mantiziba to facilitate the release of $35,000 he had said he needed to tie up loose ends.

The project awarded in 2012, was supposed to be completed in September 2013.

Mpofu blamed the hospital for missed deadlines.

He said the institution only finished civil works on which his company was supposed to start building, in 2014, way after the first deadline.

The businessman accused Moyo of pursuing a personal vendetta to destroy him.

Mpofu has been named in an alleged $6 million tender fraud at Victoria Falls and Binga.

He is also being investigated in another tender con at Mnene Mission Hospital in Mberengwa.

Mpofu has not been charged over the alleged fraud cases.