Maravi

Minister bungles Harare water deal

Minister bungles Harare water deal
TZG/TH reporters
Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:54:00 +0000

A CABINET minister from the MDC formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is at the centre of bureaucratic bungling and flouting of laid-down tender procedures that has caused delays in fixing Harare’s water and sewer situation, according to reports from Harare.

The Wednesday edition of the Herald newspaper claims that Water Resources Development and Management Minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo "entered into an agreement worth over US$20 million for the rehabilitation of Harare’s water and sewer systems with a South African company, Engineering and Electrical Supplies, without going to tender as required, and the deal has since collapsed."

Minister Nkomo is said to have confirmed the deal was practically "dead in the water" after Cabinet rejected it because he had not followed proper procedures.

"It was supposed to go through tender, but it did not. The deal was signed, but we later decided that it should now be done by the City of Harare," reported the daily.

"Engineering and Electrical Supplies are now out of the question.

"We have agreed to let tendering and all other things go through. We had not done any tendering when we struck the deal. We thought it was going to be alright,’’ admitted Minister Nkomo to Cabinet.

Despite this admission, Nkomo is said to have blamed the collapse of the deal on the politics plaguing Harare Water.

"Some of these things get politicised. Harare is not an easy place," Minister Nkomo was reported as saying.

Minister Nkomo is reported as having told the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development that the South African company was going to rehabilitate the water and sewer system at no cost to Government and the City of Harare.

"Yet, according to the Memorandum of Understanding, Engineering and Electrical Supplies would provide 'a 90-day credit facility' for the acquisition of material for the rehabilitation of the water and sewerage system.

"The MoU states that Minister Nkomo’s ministry would ensure payment to Engineering and Electrical Supplies after the 90-day period and either party could terminate the agreement upon six months’ written notification to the other party.

"Unless otherwise specifically agreed by the parties, termination shall not affect the validity of any ongoing activities not fully completed at the time of termination," reads the MoU.

In a letter to Minister Chombo on May 21, Minister Nkomo said the deal would cost neither Government nor the City of Harare a cent.

"So far, they are the only contractor who have agreed to finance their intervention upfront.

"In order to tie the two parties down, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on 8th of May 2009 and a work programme for Harare Water and Sewer developed immediately thereafter with the involvement of city council engineers and Zinwa.

"However, as you know, as Government, we currently have no money. So this initiative shall be implemented through donations," Minister Nkomo wrote.

Minister Chombo later responded expressing his appreciation that his counterpart had struck a deal at no cost to Government and council.

He, however, demanded details of the donor, scope of donation, circumstances surrounding the donation and the contractor and rationale "for selection thereof".

"It pleases me, Honourable Minister, to note that your ministry has mobilised the following resources: rehabilitation of water supplies — US$7,780 million and rehabilitation of sewerage works US$13,160 million in favour of the City of Harare," wrote Minister Ignatius Chombo on May 19.

He added: "I am even more delighted to learn that the funds have been sourced at no cost to council nor to the Government of Zimbabwe."

Minister Chombo assured Minister Nkomo that the City of Harare "will without prevarication co-operate in this matter".

However, Minister Nkomo later wrote to Finance Minister Tendai Biti seeking funding for the same deal.

"Following my recent working visit to the Republic of South Africa, I am glad to inform you that my ministry has already signed an MoU with Engineering and Electrical Supplies.

"This is a South African company willing to advance us a soft loan on a 40-day cycle in order to attend to the water sector.

"This will be their contribution to the cholera control efforts. As we pay them, the company is willing to plough back that money so that more is done in the water sector starting with some parts of Harare . . . They will start with a sum of four million rand.

"The loan component is a responsibility of your ministry. Ministry of Water, through Zinwa and the local authorities, will supervise the physical implementation of the programme," he said.

Minister Nkomo told Minister Biti that the company followed the fix-and-supply approach by assessing the scope of works, procuring the required material and then using its own company or sub-contractor to do "the job under our supervision".

He said the company wanted to minimise delays and his ministry agreed with the approach "because of the need to move fast".

Minister Nkomo indicated that work on the Harare water and sewer infrastructure had already started, yet high frequency sewer blockages, leakages, overloaded sewers and shortage of running water continue to expose Harare residents to health risks.

CLASH WITH MAYOR

Meanwhile, Minister Nkomo has recently clashed with the Mayor of Harare, Muchadeyi Masunda.

He has declared ironically that: “I am the authority on water. It does not matter who delivers it.” The minister was contending that residents do not have to pay the bills they have been saddled with by the Harare municipality.

Nkomo's comments prompted one commentator to write:

"Does that mean he can go to the shores of Lake Chivero and command the waters to rise, purify themselves and flow by themselves to the taps of Harare? If he can’t do that then what are the practical considerations he has made to ensure water supply for Harare.

"The water has to be purified at a cost, stored at a cost and pumped to the consumers at a cost. The mere fact that Nkomo has authority does not meet costs. Therefore his declaration that he is the authority is not relevant to the practical considerations of purifying and pumping Harare’s water."

Labels: HARARE, MAYOR, MDC, MUCHADEYI MASUNDA, SAMUEL SIPEPA NKOMO

posted by MrK @ 2:34 PM