The State owned, Central Mechanical and Equipment Department (CMED) is owed close to $25 million by the Zimbabwe government and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) for car rentals as far back as 2013, compromising its service delivery, according to a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee.
“CMED was owed USD24 million by government through its various user ministries,” said the committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development in its report on the turnaround strategy of CMED presented to Parliament recently.
“CMED was still owed USD768 000 by ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) for vehicles procured for use during the 2013 harmonised elections.”
The committee said Government and ZEC must pay up the CMED debt, to enable the department to fund its operations.
“Government must, as much as possible and within the limits of the prevailing resource constraints, stagger payment of the debt to CMED per quarter to ensure that the organisation is liquid enough to fund critical operations.
“The ZEC electoral body who are responsible for conducting elections in 2018, should expeditiously liquidate their $768 000 debt with CMED in order to open further lines of assistance from CMED,” said the committee.
CMED told the Committee that it hopes to recover outstanding debts “through a vigorous debt collection exercise” by end of the year.
CMED is mandated to provide transport and equipment hire services, procurement of vehicles and supplying fuel to government departments. –The Source
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