Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Bulawayo Correspondent – COVID-19 and government’s tough currency measures have combined to scuttle the completion of the US$33 million financed African Development Bank (AFDB) Bulawayo Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project (BWSSIP), city authorities have revealed.
The BWSSIP, which aims to improve municipal water supply and sanitation services in the city, has also been affected by payment delays by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
Speaking at a meeting with AFDB executive Director Dr Judith Kateera held at the council Chambers Tuesday, Bulawayo City Council Director of Engineering Services, Simela Dube said the project was expected to be completed in December 2020 but due to Covid-19, the project is now expected to be completed by December 2021.
Engineer Dube also told the AFDB delegation that government’s currency policy inconstancies have also affected the project.
“We could not pay contractors the US dollars that were part of their bids. While the bank required guarantees in US dollars because they were local and obviously this disadvantaged project implementations.
“We went out to do pre-tender meetings with local contractors such as the Construction Industry Federation of Zimbabwe (CIFOZ) to make them aware of the project before we even went to tender.
“But at the end of the day, when we put the bids together, there was minimal participation from local companies. Those that put bids were very high, even if the project was pegged in US dollars,” Dube said.
The top city official said despite the challenges, 96 percent of the project has been completed.
“Since plans were already on site, claims were initially very huge. We had to work through with contractor to bring them to manageable levels so that we finish the project within budget.
“Our target initially was a turnaround of five days between ourselves and the bank but that was unsuccessful.
“We however managed to push most of the work through with some contractors claiming interest and have been able to negotiate and suspend those claims,” Dube said.
Dr Kateera, who oversees projects in Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe, said she was pleased to note that the local authority had a 96 percent completion rate BWSSIP, against an initial target of 97 percent.
“I am serious about this and I will repeat it. I have gone around various projects that have been implemented by AFDB and the local authority.
“I encourage you to document your information and share with other local authorities on how they can pick best practice from Bulawayo,” said the (AFDB) Executive Director.
