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Charles Kuwaza

Felex Share Harare Bureau
STATE Procurement Board chairperson Charles Kuwaza has been accused of inexplicably hiding five brand new government vehicles for three years.
The all-terrain vehicles valued at $210,000 were earmarked for allocation to senior staff at the SPB but are gathering dust at the parking bay of a five-star Harare hotel.

The five Toyota Hilux double-cab trucks were for four senior procurement executives and the finance, administration and human resources director.

The SPB has paid more than $15,000 in parking fees to the hotel in the past three years rather than allocate them to earmarked beneficiaries.

The vehicles now have a thick coat of dust in the hotel parking bay. Workers said parking charges for the cars came to $750 monthly.
Inquiries at the Central Vehicle Registry showed that the vehicles were registered to the State. The SPB falls under the Office of the President and Cabinet.

Kuwaza requested questions in writing and had not responded at the time of going to print.
On January 30, 2012, Kuwaza wrote to Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Ray Ndhlukula requesting “Cabinet clearance and import exemption of duty for conditions of service vehicles for senior staff”.

The vehicles were bought from Toyota Zimbabwe that same year.
“As you are aware, the board has operated for a long time without adequate financial resources,” Kuwaza wrote. “Senior staff of director level have worked for years and in some cases, without personal issue vehicles. I am therefore seeking permission to purchase these conditions of service vehicles from Toyota in terms of Cabinet Circular Number 16 of 2011.”

Kuwaza said each car would cost $42,045, translating to $210,225 for the five.
Sources also accused SPB management of financial indiscipline with some workers who were given personal loans of more than $180,000 four years ago yet to pay back a cent.

Earlier this week, we revealed that Kuwaza took home about $147,000 in house repairs and maintenance allowances last year alone, with his total benefits gobbling nearly $210,000 before salary.

The house and repairs allowance is enough to buy property in medium-density suburbs like Mabelreign and Avondale in Harare.
Since 2009, Kuwaza – by virtue of being executive chairperson of the SPB – was entitled to allowances for domestic workers, house repairs and maintenance, telephones, security, entertainment, electricity and water.

He was also entitled to fumigation, Internet and fuel allowances and board fees.
He got housing repairs and maintenance allowances since 2009, when he was entitled to about $14,000 per year.
The figure came down to about $6,000 in 2010, before going up to $21,000 in 2011.

The allowance came down to about $17,000 in 2012, but shot to around $147,000 last year, translating to about $12,000 monthly.
Kuwaza’s total yearly allowances for 2009 were about $30,000, then about $25,000 in 2010, and then about $60,000 in 2011.
In 2012, he got about $67,000, before receiving up to $210,000 in allowances last year.

In 2013, Kuwaza got about $11,000 in fuel allowances, $18,000 for security, about $6,500 for electricity and water, and $5,500 for entertainment.

He also got $5,200 for domestic workers, about $2,500 for Internet, $2,500 for telephones and $1,500 for fumigation.
Kuwaza was also paid about $10,000 in board fees that year.

Since the inception of the multi-currency regime in 2009, Kuwaza took home nearly $400,000 in allowances.