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Temba Dube Deputy News Editor
THE Mpilo Central Hospital board has recommended the suspension of chief executive officer Lawrence Mantiziba and two senior officials after a damning audit report unearthed serious tender irregularities at one of the country’s biggest referral hospitals.The Chronicle has obtained a copy of the audit report, and the board’s recommendations, which have since been submitted to Health Minister, Dr David Parirenyatwa.

The board, after taking delivery of the audit report, recommended that Mantiziba, operations director Duduza Regina Moyo and finance director Charles Govo should be suspended  to allow for a more comprehensive examination of the hospital’s financial dealings.

The audit report by local accounting firm PNA Chartered Accountants concluded that Mantiziba failed to put in place a system of checks and balances in the awarding of tenders.

This left the system open to abuse and led to the hospital being prejudiced of millions of dollars.

The auditors recommended that he be charged with gross negligence.

After scrutinising 838 tenders worth about $4,6 million awarded between January 2012 and December 31, 2014, the investigating team found that 444 tenders with a value of about $2,8 million flouted provisions of the Procurement Act.

Moyo allegedly manipulated the Procurement and Tender Committee (PTC) to determine the outcome of tenders.

The report shows she tampered with files to withhold evidence from the investigating team.

Moyo also allegedly undermined government policies and regulations of the State Procurement Board.

She is also guilty of “drafting letters on behalf of suppliers claiming money from the hospital and deliberately awarding multiple tenders” to the same individuals in different company guises.

The auditor recommended that Moyo be reported to the police for fraud.

The report shows Govo was grossly negligent as he would pay money to suppliers without tax clearances.

For authorising payments to companies without withholding tax, the auditors suggested that he be reported to the police for tax fraud.
The board members, in their letter to the minister dated March 3, said they believed the audit was “a solid indicator of serious acts of misconduct at the hospital on the part of the chief executive officer, the director of operations and the finance director”, adding: “As such, swift action has to be taken for order, transparency and accountability to be restored at the hospital.

“The board further request that the findings of the investigation team be made public as the matter is already in the public domain.”

The Procurement Act that guides public institutions stipulates that for goods and services that cost up to $10,000, an institution should obtain a minimum of three “competitive” quotes from prospective suppliers.

Tenders above $10,000 should be advertised in the Government Gazette and a national newspaper that circulates in the public institution’s area of operation.

The auditors found that in the radiotherapy centre tender, hospital officials deliberately broke contracts into small denominations worth less than $10,000 to avoid advertising.

The $3 million tender, which was awarded to Bulawayo businessman Ashton Mpofu’s New Planet company, triggered the investigation after Moyo alleged Mpofu threatened to harm her following its cancellation.

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

The auditors said the hospital’s PTC committee was clueless about their duties and let Moyo have her way. They recommended that the committee be disbanded with immediate effect.

The hospital was, according to the report, favouring high priced quotes against lower bids without clear reasons, once again going against SPB requirements.

The auditors added: “The hospital’s scarce resources were used in an uneconomic manner without justifiable reasons, resulting in fraud as a result of the PTC favouring some suppliers over others in return for bribes and kickbacks.”

The hospital awarded contracts worth a combined $78,471.34 to Cypriano Electrical, Power Control System, and Equerry when the companies were the only bidders. The SPB requires quotations from at least three companies to be obtained before the tenders are awarded. Tenders above the $10,000 threshold awarded to Equery and High Peak companies, totalling $144,325,30 were not advertised as per SPB regulations.

The investigators observed that non-compliance with SPB regulations may lead to fines and penalties against the hospital. The practice was also likely to make suppliers overcharge.