Scandal Over Belarusian Fire Trucks In Zimbabwe
- 15.07.2022, 10:52
The deal may be cancelled.
Zimbabwean parliamentarians from the opposition and the ruling party condemned the government's deal to purchase fire engines from Belarus. This is a rare case of consensus in the parliament, writes New Zimbabwe.
The scandal over the purchase of 70 units of fire equipment from Belarus in the amount of $32 million for the local councils of Zimbabwe has been going on for several months. The text of the contract was requested in the Zimbabwean parliament, and now the Deputy Minister of Local Government, Mariam Chombo, has presented it.
The Deputy Minister explained that the deal was not carried out through the usual tender processes, because it is an intergovernmental agreement. To this, the deputies announced the invalidity of the transaction, because such expenses must be approved by parliament.
The deputies also expressed doubt that the purchase of fire engines was a priority for local councils. The deputies were also confused by the universal approach to the purchase of equipment: it is not clear why local councils in rural areas need a fire truck with an 80-meter boom. The deputies demanded to provide written requests to the local authorities about the need to purchase such equipment.
Zimbabwe's parliament has demanded a report from Minister of Local Government July Moyo, who is involved in the deal.
Earlier, the Ministry of Local Self-Government announced the purchase of 70 units of fire equipment from Belarus in the amount of $32 million. The vehicles were planned to be bought from a company owned by Aliaksandr Zingman, the honorary consul of Zimbabwe in Belarus. The Ministry wanted the local councils to finance the purchase. The cost of one vehicle was estimated at 464 thousand dollars (in Belarus, similar cars, judging by the public procurement website, are estimated at about 100 thousand dollars). Critics call the price too high and accuse the Minister of Local Government of trying to bypass the public auction system. The ministry considers the price adequate and refers to the agreement between the governments of Zimbabwe and Belarus.