Two former senior officials from the City of Harare are facing charges of fraud after allegedly facilitating a fraudulent payment of US$465,290 to Synlak Investment (Pvt) Limited for its Mbare Biogas Project, which has failed to launch since 2015.
Phillip Pfukwa, the former Director of Works (70), and Josephine Ncube, the former Chamber Secretary (62), appeared in court before Harare regional magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa, where they were granted bail of US$400 each. The pair is due back in court on April 14 for further proceedings.
According to the State, Pfukwa and Ncube are accused of manipulating the contract process to benefit Synlak Investments, bypassing required approvals from the city’s procurement committees. Prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti stated that the City Council had received a €350,500 grant from the European Union in December 2013. However, instead of following proper procurement protocols, Pfukwa and Ncube allegedly circumvented key steps in the evaluation process.
It is claimed that Pfukwa, contrary to City bylaws, conducted the tender evaluation on his own, bypassing the required independent review by the Town Clerk and the procurement committee. Ncube, in her role, is accused of assisting Pfukwa by issuing an internal memorandum that confirmed Synlak Investments met the necessary criteria, despite the lack of oversight from the appropriate committees.
As a result, the City of Harare awarded the contract to Synlak on December 31, 2015, violating both the Procurement Act and City regulations. Following the contract’s approval, Synlak was paid the full amount of US$465,290. However, investigations revealed that the company failed to deliver the promised work, leaving the project incomplete and causing financial harm to the city.
The State alleges that both Pfukwa and Ncube knowingly violated their official duties, intending to give Synlak an unfair advantage, which resulted in significant financial loss and delayed progress on the biogas project, which was meant to provide alternative energy for Mbare.
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