Techmiya Commercials Limited, the Company that failed to deliver earth moving equipment for Choma and Kalomo District Councils, cannot be traced to clear a balance of K1.3 million needed to clear the equipment, which is marooned in Namibia.
According to interviews with companies and public officers dealing with the matter, Techmiya engaged Truck Sales 2000 Limited to supply the equipment, but it had failed to pay K1.3 million to clear the machines from Walvis Bay in Namibia.
And Truck Sales 2000 Limited, a British company and principal supplier of earth moving equipment has complained that it is irresponsible to allege that it failed to deliver the earth moving machines.
Information has emerged that Techmiya Commercials Limited, the company that was contracted to supply the equipment and later engaged Truck Sales 2000 Limited, was corruptly awarded the tender to supply the equipment and it had no capacity to undertake the contract.
Techmiya Commercials Limited has since vanished and efforts by the councils in Southern Province to trace and summon its representatives have failed.
Some sources from Choma have said senior people in the government had connections to Techmiya Commercials Limited.
According to the sources, the Anti Corruption Commission must probe the matter to establish how Techmiya Commercials Limited was awarded the tender in 2013.
“There are people right there in Choma who received kickbacks and the matter has backfired now because the supplier has failed to deliver. This is pure abuse of office and public funds and we must not just sit and look at what is happening,” the source said.
Truck Sales 2000 Limited has said that it is not true that it had swindled Choma and Kalomo district councils in Southern province.
The company has said it was approached by Techmiya Commercials to supply the earth moving equipment, which was procured from Europe and was currently marooned at Walvis Bay in Namibia because Techmiya had failed to settle the balance of K1.3 million.
Company managing director William Simpson said his company was asked by another company, Techmiya Commercials Limited, to supply the equipment.
He said it was irresponsible for government and senior council officials to continue alleging that it had failed to deliver its contractual obligations, when it was the local company that has failed to make payments.
“This equipment has not been supplied because the company that asked us to bring the machinery has refused to pay us and we cannot be blamed for that. We are a serious company and we are losing colossal sums of money by having the trucks at Walvis Bay. We are paying large storage fees,” he said.
Simpson said his firm would not release the equipment to the Zambian councils before Techmiya Commercials Limited did settle the balance of K1.6 million and he would be forced to return the machines to the United Kingdom if the money was paid immediately.
Choma and Kalomo district councils bought the earth moving machines using part of the 2012 Constituency Development Fund through from Techmiya Commercials limited.
“The equipment was invoiced out in May 2013 and was shipped to Walvis Bay in September 2013, to date, Techmiya Commercials Limited, to who we supplied the equipment, has not paid me a balance of 150,000 pounds (K1.3 million) for the two councils and I will only release them after that balance is cleared,” he said.
In the 2012 report, the Auditor General indicated that two councils were allegedly swindled out of K1.3 million from the CDF fund following irregular payments Techimiya Commercials Limited.
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