The Lupane State University (LSU) administration has been accused of violating procurement processes and using a third party to initiate a payment to a Zambian ICT company while evading tax, despite knowing the institution had been blacklisted by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), CITE can reveal.
The university was reportedly blacklisted by the RBZ after failing to account for payments worth US$3,066.43 made to a South African company in 2019 for a Chancellor’s robe and PA system and engaging omalayitsha to smuggle the goods, prejudicing the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) on duties.
Read background here: https://cite.org.zw/lsu-corruption-scandal-deepens-as-more-rot-exposed/
In the latest incident, sources said the amount paid by LSU management to procure a student information system called EduRole in Zambia exceeded the tender thresholds.
“Early this year, the Procurement Manager and the Director of ICTS, through the authority of the Vice-Chancellor, travelled to Zambia to procure a student management information system,” the sources claimed.
“To circumvent the laws and avoid paying duty, the University engaged Access Forex to initiate a payment to Corelink Limited without approval, despite knowing that the University had been blacklisted by the RBZ.
“Contracts are sent to the RBZ before payment because the university was blacklisted. This resulted in the university avoiding paying duty or Value Added Tax (VAT) as per the ZIMRA Act.”
According to sources, LSU staff have expressed concern that although the institution is “not permitted by the RBZ” to make external payments, it continues to use third parties to “externalize” public money.
Documents show an email sent to the Acting Procurement Manager, Knowledge Muvirimi, by Access Forex personnel on January 16, 2024, at 13:36 hours, copied to management, to transfer US$24,926.08 to Corelink Consulting Limited for the purchase.
“Initial NOSTRO transfer will incur a cost of 3%, presenting the quoted amount as US$26,670.91 using a processing fee of 4%. The university processed payment of US$26,670.91 to Access Forex for a single transaction of US$24,926.08 to Corelink Limited on January 17, 2024,” read the email in part.
LSU made the payment to Corelink Consulting Limited using Access Forex, which has a First Capital Bank account number.
CITE gathered that this payment was received by the ICT company in Zambia, which is now working with LSU to set up and customize the EduRole system.
Apart from the EduRole system, LSU reportedly wanted hardware for the computer network, a firewall, WiFi access points, card printing equipment, ID cards, and 12,000 branded lanyards.
The ICT company insists it was not involved in any non-competitive practices, stating theirs was a legitimate transaction and they were offered the contract after an LSU team evaluated their products.
Some staff members, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said if the university maintained its current student management information system, Mopane, the amount paid for EduRole could have been saved.
“Probably the upgrading of the system would have taken three months, which would have cost far less than the payment,” said one staff member.
Contacted for comment, LSU spokesperson Densen Kulube dismissed claims that LSU had been blacklisted by RBZ.
“As you put it, these are allegations. It remains as such, allegations. Lupane State University is not under RBZ blacklisting of any kind,” he said, without responding to other questions put to him on WhatsApp.
LSU insiders claimed the institution’s administration flouted tender requirements after the Acting Procurement Manager issued a Request For Quotation (RFQ) notice on December 28, 2023, which closed on December 30, 2023, at 15:30 hours.
“Quotations are invited from reputable and current Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) registered suppliers for the supply and delivery of listed goods and services. In line with Statutory Instrument 185 of 2020, prices to be in ZWL$,” the RFQ notice read.
Only one supplier, Corelink Consulting Limited, responded to the RFQ, although the Public Procurement And Disposal of Public Assets Act (PPDPA), Chapter 22:23 Section 34 (1), states that a procuring entity must solicit at least three competitive quotations for its procurement requirements below the prescribed threshold.
The PPDPA Act Section 38 (2) (a) further states that a procuring entity shall cause the bidding document containing its notice of invitation to bid or to pre-qualify to be published in the Gazette and in at least one national newspaper of wide enough circulation to reach sufficient bidders to ensure effective competition, or (b) to the extent feasible, on the internet and any website established by the Authority.
However, LSU insiders said none of the above was done by the Acting Procurement Manager in the procurement of the EduRole system in Zambia.
Another anomaly was LSU indicated that the RFQ price must be quoted in ZWL$, but Corelink Consulting Limited generated a quotation (CL20220137) in US$ ($24,926.08) on December 29, 2023, at 10:20:03.
“There was no adjudication on the tender to generate a letter of award,” sources said, resulting in a contract between the two parties.
The contract was signed by the Vice-Chancellor on January 5, 2024, and the Acting Procurement Manager wrote a memorandum to the Acting Bursar on January 5, 2024, to process a prepayment to Corelink Consulting Limited.
“The supplier does not offer its products on credit; therefore, we have attached a proforma invoice for you to process payment,” the memorandum read in part.
The invoice number CL20220137, generated on December 29, 2023, at 10:20:03, was made on the same date of bidding as indicated on the quotation, which sources said was a pre-awarded tender against the rules and regulations of procurement.
Sources also claimed that the invoice to Corelink may have been altered to include materials for printing student cards and lanyards costing over US$16,000.
Another concern raised by sources was they doubted that duty was paid for the information system imported from Zambia.
“I am sure ZIMRA will be willing to collect duty if these materials were indeed delivered,” said insiders, noting that the payment made to acquire EduRole was more expensive, as “three other Zimbabwean institutions had paid an average of US$6,000 for the same.”
Although the Zambian ICT company is setting up the EduRole at LSU, sources claimed the system is still being customized in Zambia, and the university student servers are presently administered in Zambia.
“If the Zambian servers are down, the University cannot process simple tasks such as the production of student IDs,” sources said, adding that up to now, user departments have not been trained on the EduRole system.
“Results are still processed using the outdated Mopane System. Charging of students is yet to be done because the system is still not compatible, resulting in students having huge balances on their student portals.”
Sources said staff members also feared that student transcripts would not be ready at graduation as the EduRole system is “far from working.”
“Staff members fear that the 2023 financial statements would have a pervasive opinion due to failure to recognize revenue from students.”
