Group Five is a well known company for infrastructure coming from South Africa doing the work here. In doing the work here, what has happened to the indigenisation and empowerment initiatives of this country where the foreigners coming in this country must partner with the natives of this country. We do not see that happening and the disturbing part of this is that our Government seems to be obsessed with working with whites than blacks. They think that when they see a white man, they do not have to do any due diligence. Where was the due diligence in this? They are so excited about seeing whites that they think that because he is a white man he must be given a business deal but how many of our black companies have engineers born and educated in this country who are working all over the world but still they are not able to get business in this country but due diligence is never done because it is a white face.
Some of the people realise for you to get a good business deal in Zimbabwe, put a white face and Government will give you a deal. The due diligence is not done. We have a situation where these cartels of white people are well connected and control the entire security system. They are able to get sympathy from the Central Intelligence Organisation, Army and the Police. So how do you then zero in on them to be able to account for whatever it is? This is evidence that the roads were not done properly. Should it always wait for Parliament to move in to correct a situation? What are all these institutions doing? Parliament can only do so much.
Equally, you have a situation where the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure was supposed to look into this but they cannot look into this because they have probably been told because of certain heavy weights involved, they cannot touch it. So this corruption permeates through even Parliamentary Committees where they can bring this. This report was supposed to have been long exposed by the Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure in its mandate of oversight on this. It did not do the job. Why did it not do the job? This is the white cartel system that I am talking about that it has even permeated through Parliament where a Portfolio Committee put it on the side. Is it not a shame that this happened while they were watching.
So what is the role of Parliament in oversight? When we talk about Portfolio Committees, they are the engine rooms of Parliament. This is where they have as much time to interrogate this so that we can understand what is happening at the end of the day. I would want to know Madam Speaker and the Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure must respond to why they did not hold this ZINARA accountable because ZINARA falls under them. Waiting for this report to be here, the horses have bolted. The President’s clarion call is zero tolerance on corruption. What are we doing to arrest corruption? What are the Portfolio Committees doing to arrest corruption?
A lot of money has gone in and wasted but still we have people who are busy watching those who are corrupt. You supply the wrong equipment. If the equipment that you tendered for or you were told to supply is not that equipment, why would the company receive equipment which was not on the contract? If that is the case, you re-tender. So now the equipment which was supposed to be supplied was not supplied and we still have it, for what? What is the point of being so strict on specifics of equipment? They could as well just have brought in any equipment.
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