The City of Harare has reportedly lost nearly $500,000 in a questionable contract with Synlak Pvt Ltd, a company associated with controversial figures Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu.
This contract, initiated in 2016 and valued at $494,270, was for the removal and replacement of a crematorium at Warren Hills.
By August 2017, the City of Harare had paid the full amount to Synlak, despite the project making minimal progress. According to a City Architect’s report, only 0.1% of the work had been completed by September 2017.
The payments made were disproportionate to the work completed, and there was no documented communication between the project department and the Finance Department regarding these payments.
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The audit also found that Synlak did not fulfill the contract’s terms despite receiving significant payments. There was no evidence of how payments were justified according to the contract’s deliverables.
The audit revealed issues with record-keeping and a lack of proper documentation for payments.
Additionally, Synlak has a history of non-delivery, including an unfinished biogas digester project funded by a €350,000 grant from the European Union.
Despite receiving $465,290 for this project, Synlak has not completed the work due to disagreements with the city.
The project, intended to build biogas digesters and supply a generator, remains incomplete, leading to an overpayment of $221,755 and questions about mismanagement and contract enforcement.
This situation has led to an investigation by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission. Synlak’s principals, Chimombe and Mpofu, are currently in jail facing corruption charges related to a presidential goat scheme and a separate $9.2 million streetlights corruption scandal involving several Harare City Council officials.
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