Nyasha Chizu

Fellow, Chartered Institute of Purchasing Supply (CIPS)
Member, Institute of Directors, Zimbabwe.
Member, International Research Group in Public Procurement.

Service / Career

• February 2009 to May 2010 – Logistics Coordinator, Crown Agents Zimbabwe.
  
• 2008 to 2011 – Branch Chairman, CIPS
  
• June 2010 to December 2011 – Logistics Officer, John Snow Inc.
  
• 2011 to 2017 – Director, Harley Reed Zimbabwe.
  

• 2017 – Attached to President’s Office, Technical advisor to Public Procurement Reform. Led to Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act [Chapter 22:23], which established the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe. (SI 152 of 17 December 2017). Repealed Procurement Act [Chapter 22:14] and dissolved the State Procurement Board.

• January 2018 – Appointed CEO for Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe PRAZ. His contract was terminated by the organisation. He was replaced by Clever Ruswa in June 2021.^[1]
  

• 2020 - Writes weekly procurement column for Newsday, 2020. ^[2]

Events

In January 2018, PRAZ started by firing all the State Procurement Board (SPB) employees over corruption allegedly committed before the State procurement entity was reconfigured. PRAZ said it would reengage workers who fit it’s new mandate. In a letter Nyasha Chizu said PRAZ was finalising the structure of the new authority and recruitment would commence once formalities were concluded.

The allegations of corruption came after a many allegations of impropriety. For example,

• The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy, in 2017, demanded a probe of Zesa energy deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
• Ex-chairman (chair until November 20150, Charles Kuwaza, deceased, was accused of violating regulations by awarding tenders to entities that did not meet specifications.
• In August 2017, the SPB admitted erring in awarding a 120 megawatts emergency Mutare Peaking Plant tender to Helcraw Electrical. Revelations showed that the company provided two generating units instead of up to four with generation capacity between 30MW and 40MW. Chair Buzwani Mothobi undertook to revisit the tender and regularise the exercise.
• The SPB was accused of awarding tenders to bogus companies. ^[3]

Speaking in February 2019, after the launch of PRAZ, Nyasha Chizu talked of the 2010 World Bank country integration judiciary assessment, which looked into national public financial systems and public procurement management systems, and found Zimbabwe being rated at 44 percent, in terms of national procurement management. Guided by the Zimbabwe Constitution, particularly section 315, new regulations on procurement created. “Bidding and complementary rigging should be a thing of the past as we now expect every public and private sector to follow the new regulations. Now that PRAZ has been launched, we have the power to deal with entities that would have gone against our regulations.” ^[4]

Using the example of the government not seeking the arrest of Wicknell Chivayo, who was paid $7 million in 2016 by ZESA for the Gwanda solar project, where he had not even constructed a fence after 2 years, Nyasha Chizu pointed out that only government officials, from ministers down, are punishable for violating the new Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act (PPDPA). Which replaced the Procurement Act. PRAZ’s responsibility includes advising Government, setting standards and guidelines, training and professional development. It will also refer contraventions of the law to enforcement agencies such as the police.

Accounting officers in Government departments now face jail if they flout laid down procurement procedures while ministers, permanent secretaries and board members who interfere with tender procedures will also be prosecuted. Where there is interference from a higher office principally Cabinet Ministers, accounting officers are now empowered to lodge an objection with the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet.

Conducting public procurement without written permission issued by PRAZ is a violation of the set regulations.

When a higher official directs accounting officers to do or to omit something in respect of procurement ,the accounting officer ought to write to the authorities concerned highlighting the provisions of the law. Notwithstanding any terms or conditions of employment. He shall not be liable to any penalty for such non-compliance. An authority’s directive should be in writing also and if he or she refuses to put the instruction in writing, the accounting officer should not comply. Accounting officers should not be coerced into violating tender procedures and should request written directives from those wanting to interfere with procurement processes.

The penalties, he said, were outlined in Statutory Instrument 5 of 2018. In the case of a corporate entity, the offence is liable to a fine not exceeding level 14 and in case of individuals, it’s a fine not exceeding level 10 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 6 months or both.

• Unlawful disclosure of information relating to the content of any pre-qualification or bid or examination, clarification, evaluation or comparison of bids shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 14 or imprisonment of a period not exceeding 6 months.
• Awarding contracts that are subject to prior review in terms of section 54 and without complying with the requirements for prior review is also level 14 fine and 6 months imprisonment.
• Processing procurement not specified in a procurement plan in violation of section 22 and 23 of the Act for corporate bodies — level 14 fine, and individuals level 10 fine or 6 months imprisonment or both.” ^[5]

In April 2019, as Chief Executive Officer of PRAZ, he was awarded the 2018 Megafest CEO of the Year. When he became CEO in January 2018, he worked with Board of Directors was chair by Mrs Vimbai Nyemba and former Acting CEO Nyasha Chizu to hire a staff a current staff complement of 56, and implement the tenets of the new Act and Regulations. They then worked to ensure all entities were aligned with the new Act before the 31 December 2019 transitional period expiry. ^[6]

In May 2019, the PRAZ CEO gave evidence in court over the issue of criminal abuse of office, where Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) acting general manager Luke Akino and former board chair David Murangari were accused of corruptly awarding a $168 000 consultancy services deal to Mashungupa and Muhita Engineering Projects which without going to tender.

The trial was before Harare Regional magistrate Hosea Mujaya, and prosecuted by Michael Reza. Farai Mushoriwa representing the accused. Nyasha Chizu said the informal tender was supposed to be floated in the local press for 15 days. ^[7]

When the City of Harare moved, in May 2019, from the BIQ billing system to a SAGE system, in a deal worth over US$300 000 (the total cost may exceed US$500 000), it did so without going to tender. The city went two months without a billing system, then posted on its Facebook page that it had moved to a new system known as Enterprise Resource Planning System, and said it would send it’s customers’ April bills. All without the authority of the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ).

However, Michael Chideme (council’s public relations manager), insisted that the procurement was aboveboard. “We cleared it with PRAZ. It is called a proof of concept. It will run for a period while we go to tender,” he said. Investigations by The Herald established that council, on its own, invited SAGE and another company called Promun Axis Solution for trials between April and part of May before settling for SAGE, to replace Quill Associates, which used to offer BIQ system. ^[8]

In court in July 2019, former Energy minister Elton Mangoma, Zesa Holdings chief executive Joshua Chifamba and Zesa Enterprises (Zent) managing director Tererai Mutasa are on trial for violation of the Procurement Act, after they gave a South Korean company, Techpro Private Limited, a $3 million contract for the manufacture of switch gears in 2011 without due processes.

The judge was Harare magistrate Francis Mapfumo, while Elton Mangoma’s lawyer was Tonderai Bhatasara. Nyasha Chizu again testified. ^[9]

Merely “seeking more information” by PRAZ seems to have caused the ZINARA deputy board chairman to quit. Runyararo Jambo resigned on 28 October 2019 in a letter to Transport Minister Joel Matiza, citing “personal and professional reasons”, and that he was “unable to continue” in the role. All involving alleged flouting of tender procedures.

PRAZ awarded a tender to guard ZINARA tollgates and installations to two companies, Modern Security and Real Star Security Company. Then, board chairman Michael Madanha was accused of ‘arm-twisting’ the board to give the tender to Ex-Combatants Security Services, reported to be a Zanu PF-linked company, whose directors include former Energy and Power Development deputy minister Tsitsi Muzenda, former Zanu PF legislator Tranos Huruva, ex-Zanu PF Glen View South 2018 primary election candidate Steven Hurungudo, Thomas Mwazha and Douglas Munangwa. Ex-Combatants Security Services, was awarded the contract for a year by resolution of the board. ^{[10] [11]}

Speaking on the matter, Nyasha Chizu clarified that section 16 of the Act forbids ministers and their deputies, permanent secretaries and board members to issue directives on procuring entities to heads of parastatals. Although no directive was known to PRAZ. If such procedures or incidents happened, the procedures for dealing with such issues is provided for in the same subsection of the same provision and section 94 criminalises use of procurement methods not provided by the act.” ^[12]