Mnangagwa Sacks Party Chef Over Ballot Paper Scandal
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has reportedly fired the ZANU PF director for administration, Dickson Dzora, for his alleged involvement in a ballot paper printing deal that partly contributed to chaotic internal elections held last month.
Dzora allegedly colluded with some party officials to corruptly engage a private company to print thousands of ballot papers for the party’s provincial polls held in December 2021.
Reports indicate that Dzora was sacked after the politburo meeting held on Saturday.
It is alleged that Dzora engaged a company called VGP Technologies, based at Engineering House along Rezende Street in Harare which in turn subcontracted Lightpress, to print the ballot papers.
Dzora was reportedly working with other senior party officials and employees, including one identified as Munyaradzi Katsande who was in the ICT department.
Katsande was reportedly fired after he allegedly misappropriated thousands of dollars from the party.
NewsDay reported sources as saying that ZANU PF secretary for security Lovemore Matuke detected the scam and engaged the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to investigate why the party subcontracted the work which was usually done by its printing arm, Jongwe Printers. Said a source:
Such printing business is usually done by Jongwe Printers and it had already printed the ballot papers before Dzora approached VGP Technologies for the same.
His company of choice did not have the capacity and it subcontracted another company based in Graniteside called Lightpress for the job.
Investigations revealed personal interests and connivance at the party headquarters for them to benefit.
