Parliament spent nearly US$400,000 of public money upgrading the private home of Senate President Mabel Chinomona, buying luxury fittings and furnishings through procurement processes that bypassed competitive tender requirements.
An investigation by CITE found that US$372,260 was paid to handpicked suppliers, even though several individual payments exceeded legal thresholds that require open bidding.
The expenditure was flagged by Auditor-General Reah Kujinga in her 2023 and 2024 audit reports on Parliament, which concluded that the transactions violated procurement laws and exposed public funds to abuse.
According to the Auditor-General, Parliament processed at least five payments above US$20,000 without inviting competitive bids. The largest payment, US$116,000, was made between June and August 2022 for demolishing and rebuilding a perimeter wall at Chinomona’s Borrowdale residence, well above the threshold for mandatory tendering.
In February and March 2022, Parliament also paid US$57,874 for furniture and fittings, including chandeliers, lampshades and decorative vases, despite the procurement limit for such items being US$10,000.
Treasury approval was sought for a further US$60,587 spent on bedroom upgrades, including multiple beds and bedding sets. Additional payments covered kitchen furniture and appliances worth US$72,795, such as refrigerators, washing machines and small electrical items.
Another US$64,000 was spent on curtains installed throughout the property, including lounges, bedrooms, a home office, staff quarters and the kitchen. The Auditor-General noted that procurement thresholds were again ignored.
Parliament defended the direct procurement in its response, claiming suppliers were selected for “artistic and qualitative reasons”. The Auditor-General rejected this explanation, warning that bypassing competitive bidding restricts competition and risks uneconomic procurement.
Following the tabling of the audit reports, the Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Kuwadzana East MP Chalton Hwende, summoned senior parliamentary officials. The officials initially resisted appearing and later demanded that the media be excluded from the hearings, citing “sensitive data”.
The 2024 audit also revealed that senior staff in Speaker Jacob Mudenda’s office allocated themselves fuel far in excess of authorised limits.
CITE sought comment from Chinomona and Clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda, but both declined to respond.
More: CITE
