SA firm embroiled in Zimbabwe graft scandal

Ren-Form, the Johannesburg-based firm at the centre of an ongoing corruption scandal in Zimbabwe, is also the supplier of voter management devices (VMDs) to South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). That’s according to the Daily Maverick which notes that the IEC is currently investigating why these devices did not perform optimally at many of the country’s voting stations during the 29 May national elections. In 2021, Ren-Form clinched a R566m contract to supply 40 000 handheld VMDs to the IEC, at roughly R14 000 per device. The IEC said some of the apps loaded onto the devices may have been responsible for the devices’ tardiness, and that the tablets themselves were in good order. It is still investigating the issue.  The devices, freshly procured in 2021, also failed to optimally perform in that year’s local government elections. In that instance, connectivity issues caused the problems, not the actual devices, the IEC has explained.

DM notes that Ren-Form has for the past six weeks been at the centre of a massive corruption scandal involving a $40m contract to supply biometric voter registration kits and related materials to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). The matter was first exposed by The Newshawks, an independent media platform. Two days before SA’s general elections, The Newshawks revealed that Ren-Form, in its pursuit of the ZEC contract, had allegedly partnered with businessmen said to be close to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and officials in his administration. Wicknell Chivayo and other Zimbabwean businessmen allegedly acted as middlemen or agents for Ren-Form and may have inflated the prices of Ren-Form’s products by as much as 235. There have also been allegations that questionable payments may have been made to government and ZEC officials. The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission is probing allegations of money laundering and abuse of office relating to the ZEC contract.