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Zimbabwe's ICT Minister responds to corruption allegations

Zimbabwe's ICT Minister responds to corruption allegations
By Michael Malakata, ITWeb’s Zambian correspondent.
15 Feb 2018

Zimbabwe's Minister of ICT and Cyber Security Supa Mandiwanzira has denied allegations of corruption levelled against him by former NetOne CEO Reward Kangai.

Kangai reported Mandiwanzira to the anti-corruption commission alleging the Minister had issued the company with a US$4 million invoice for consultation services provided by a firm he had single-sourced.

Kangai added that the country's law requires tendering to be a standard procedure, and it would have therefore been illegal for him to have honoured the invoice.

He further claimed that amount invoiced was higher than what NetOne would have paid, had the process gone to tender.

Based on other quotes, the fees for providing the same consultation services were in the region of US$300,000, according to Kangai.

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Kangai believes his refusal to honour the quotation was the reason he was fired from the state-owned mobile operator in 2016.

In response to the allegations, Mandiwanzira told parliament that one of his main responsibilities was to "clean up cartels operating in state enterprises and parastatals under his ministry" and "not to steal or benefit himself as reported to the anti-corruption commission."

Mandiwanzira said he was ready to be investigated by the country's anti-corruption watchdog.

"As a minister, I can declare that I'm not a corrupt person and I have never taken a cent from government. I was in business before coming into government."

The Minister counter-claimed that Kangai was involved in dubious activities while at the helm of NetOne, which cost the company millions of dollars, and this was reflected in an Auditor General's report.

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