Chuyển đến nội dung chính

Parliament summons Nikuv over Command Agriculture

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned agricultural inputs supplier, Pedstock Investments (Pedstock), to a hearing to explain circumstances in which it spent US$7 million it was allocated under government’s command agriculture scheme last season following concerns the money may have been misappropriated.

PAC chair Tendai Biti confirmed the development saying the committee wants the company to fully acquit for the money.“You remember they are administering public funds extended to them under the Command Agriculture scheme in which they are supposed to supply irrigation equipment.“So basically, we want to understand the legal issues surrounding their deal; did they go to tender and how much was it worth in total.We have also asked them to bring all necessary documents. They are definitely going to appear before the committee,”


Biti said.Pedstock has been marred by allegations of externalising millions of United States dollars and making questionable payments.It is a local subsidiary of Israeli company, Nikuv International Projects Limited, which hogged the limelight on allegations of electronically manipulating the 2013 general election outcome believed to have been rigged in favour of the Zanu PF and the late former president Robert Mugabe.According to a government payment schedule seen today by the Zim Morning Post, Pedstock was allocated US$6 907 927 to source and supply irrigation equipment to some farmers contracted by government under the subsidised farm inputs scheme during the 2018/19 agriculture season.The money was paid through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).Government sources said Pedstock, which has participated in the controversial scheme since its inception in 2016, did not satisfactorily deliver on its contractual obligation arising from last season’s allocation.

According to the sources the matter is now subject to a parliamentary inquiry.“They were awarded a tender to supply centre pivots irrigators for farmers contracted by government under the Command Agriculture scheme but they didn’t deliver.“Now they have applied for yet another allocation for the coming season despite not having supplied an adequate number of centre pivots from the previous arrangement and this has attracted the interest of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC).“The committee has since summoned the company’s top management to a hearing on how it spent the previous allocation before they can access more funding,”


 a government source said.Pedstock managing director Dror Jackson, an Israeli businessman operating in Zimbabwe, however, said his company had fully utilised the money and was ready for the parliamentary grilling.“All contractual obligations have been met and our company delivered all that was paid for by Govt, in record time.Govt. contracted us to deliver and install 80 centre pivots which we did in less than 8 months,” Jackson said.He added that the committee had previously cancelled its hearing despite the fact that they had come fully prepared for it.“Pedstock was invited to come to Parliament.

We attended the hearing, however, we were advised that it would be moved to another date.Please note that we came with all relevant paperwork and proof of delivery for all of what we had been contracted to do,” he said.Pedstock initially courted controversy in 2017 when was accused of externalising millions of dollars by purportedly making payments to the police’s Minerals and Border Patrol Unit in a scam involving former Mines ministry secretary Francis Gudyanga.In 2017, Jackson appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy where he was grilled on how he was used as a conduit to get a payment of more than US$1 million from the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) by Gudyanga in order to pay another Israeli company called Glamer,



 which has no offices in Zimbabwe.Jackson denied ever dealing with the Mines ministry or MMCZ, but that his company was being used as a conduit for a confidential transaction between Glamer and the ministry.Gudyanga is currently facing criminal abuse of office and corruption charges partly arising from the shady deal at the Harare Magistrates Court.Command Agriculture, has been criticised as a looting scheme after huge amounts of funds went unaccounted for.In June

Nhận xét

Đăng nhận xét

Bài đăng phổ biến từ blog này

Meghan Markle's shock family showdown in LA

The Markle family are again lashing out following new claims that Meghan Markle has not reached out to her father during the coronavirus crisis.In yet another explosive interview, Thomas Markle, 53, has claimed that his half-sister is still yet to check in on their 75-year-old father, Thomas Markle Sr.It comes just days after it was revealed that Meghan’s father-in-law, Prince Charles, is no longer in self-isolation after he had symptoms and tested positive for the life-threatening COVID-19 last month.“Meghan has not called [Dad] to ask how he is,” says Thomas. “It’s really, really, absurd Thomas, who insists he is in daily contact with their Mexico-based father, believes Meghan has shown zero concern for their elderly father.“She has made no effort to find out how he’s coping with this crisis, if he’s got enough food and supplies or if his health is OK,” Thomas continues.The Markle family are again lashing out following new claims that Meghan Markle has not reached out to he...
Đăng nhận xét
Đọc thêm

Chamisa's lawyer spoke out about Mnangagwa's fraud evidence during the election

OPPOSITION MDC leader Nelson Chamisa will launch a renewed bid to oust President Emmerson Mnangagwa by seeking to have the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) review its own judgment based on “new evidence.”.Chamisa’s lawyer Thabani Mpofu said after studying academic works on the elections published by self-exiled former minister Jonathan Moyo, they were now making efforts to have the judgment on the 2018 presidential elections set aside.The country’s top court ruled that Chamisa had failed to prove allegations of fraud during the presidential election, a vote which left the nation polarised and violence on the streets of the capital Harare.Mpofu said the basis of approaching the ConCourt was because they now believe that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) presented to the courts false information and, therefore, their call for the judgment to be set aside.“The general rule is that once a final judgment or order has been given, the judge who gave it or any other judge of parallel juri...
Đăng nhận xét
Đọc thêm

Grace Mugabe to make a graceful exit from politics

The future of former First Lady, Grace Mugabe, who arguably created more enemies than friends during her husband's last days in office, now hangs in the balance. The demise of the former president.Robert Mugabe, the man from whom Grace drew power and protection, leaves his wife now exposed. Grace, who during the greater part of husband's presidency had been focused on charity work, before later venturing into politics..With the support of Mugabe, Grace was in December 2014 parachuted to the helm of ZANU-PF Women's League, automatically qualifying to sit in the ruling party's highest decision-making body, the Politburo..The ex-First Lady then used her position and marriage to Mugabe to vilify all those she perceived to be harbouring ambitions of succeeding Zimbabwe's long-time ruler..She became literally untouchable with ministers currying favours with her to avoid being sacked by the President. The former First Lady ganged up with the G40 faction of ZANU-PF....
Đăng nhận xét
Đọc thêm