Roy Bhila
| Roy Bhila | |
|---|---|
 Roy Bhila | |
| Born | Roy Bhila February 25, 1980 Chipinge |
| Residence | Zimbabwe |
| Citizenship | Zimbabwean |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Years active | 2008 to present |
| Known for | Politics |
| Political party | Zanu PF |
Roy Bhila is a Zimbabwean politician and a member of Zanu-PF. In 2018, Bhila was elected Chiredzi North MP on a ZANU PF ticket, and he retained the seat in the 23 August 2023 Harmonised Elections.
In May 2021, an audio leaked of Bhila ordering Cottco to withdraw the tender for a 31-seater bus to ferry Cottco employees to and from work which had been won by Sasavona Logistics.
Background
Bhila was born in Chipinge.
Age
Roy Bhila was born on 25 February 1980.[1]
Wife
Bhila is married but the identity of his wife is unknown.[1]
Career
Bhila was the secretary-general of the Commercial Sugarcane Farmers Association (CFAZ). In 2017 he was accused of unilaterally firing the administrator so that he could gain total control of the association. Bhila was also accused of receiving daily allowances which the association said were unsustainable. In his defence, Bhila said his operations were above-board and he was entitled to a daily fuel allowance because he was carrying out his work. The association had approached the then Deputy Minister for Agriculture Mechanisation and Irrigation Development responsible for Crops Davis Marapira asking for a ministerial team to do their books. The request was turned down. [2]
In August 2023, Bhila was re-elected Member of Parliament for Chiredzi North after defeating the Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) candidate Fungai Chamisa.
In September 2023, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.[3]
Interferrence in Cottco Tender
In May 2021, a leaked conversation leaked between Bhila and Cottco business manager Innocent Gukwe. The conversation exposed Bhila's interference in the awarding of tenders at Cottco.
Bhila ordered the cancellation of a transport tender that had been awarded to Sasavona Logistics owned by losing MDC Alliance candidate John Manganye. In the 2018 elections, Manganye contested for the Chiredzi West seat against Zanu PF candidate Farai Musikavanhu and lost.
The order by Bhila came barely a year after Manganye, who is based in the United Kingdom, made a donation offer to Chiredzi Polyclinic, which Musikavanhu ordered to be rejected.
In the leaked telephone conversation, Gukwe could be heard innocently trying to explain that Cottco awarded the tender for a 31-seater omnibus to Sasavona Logistics unaware that it was owned by a losing MDC candidate.
Bhila then threatened the Cottco manager saying that he risked getting fired if he did not withdraw the tender offer.
Gukwe tried to explain Cottco's processes in awarding tenders, saying the company did not discriminate along political lines, but Bhila could have none of it. Gukwe eventually withdrew the tender.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 HON BHILA ROY, Parliament of Zimbabwe, Published: No Date Given, Retrieved: May 11, 2021
- ↑ Tawanda Mangoma, Sugarcane farmers cry foul, The Herald, Published: March 24, 2017, Retrieved: May 11, 2021
- ↑ Mnangagwa Appoints 3 More Deputy Ministers; Sanyatwe, Kambamura & Bhila, Pindula News, Published: 16 September 2023. Retrieved: 19 September 2023
- ↑ GARIKAI MAFIRAKUREVA, MP ropes in CIO to bully Cottco over bus tender, NewsDay, Published: May 11, 2021, Retrieved: May 11, 2021
