…as contractors demand fuel in ZW$
…monitoring tour by ERRP administrative team opens can of worms
Beatific Gumbwanda
CHIREDZI– The government’s poor planning on Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme is manifesting and seemingly haunting the government as contractors are now demanding that they be given access to fuel in local currency.
The recent visit by Major General (Rtd) Godfrey Chanakira who is the Permanent Secretary in Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s office on a week-long tour of ERRP roads in Masvingo province opened a can of worms on how poor planning is seemingly evident as contractors working on such projects are struggling to purchase enough fuel from the budgets funded by government.
Contractors cried foul that all fuel dealers demand foreign currency which is in contrast as government pays them in local currency.
In Masvingo District, journalists were not allowed to go on the tour, with Major General (Rtd) Chanakira who said he was only a technocrat hence taking the media on the tour was pointless, but in Chiredzi members of the media participated in the tour.
Addressing stakeholders at Chiredzi Town Council (CTC) boardroom, Major General (Rtd) Chanakira however promised them that government will engage the Central Mechanical Equipment Department (CMED) in a move meant to ensure the parastatal bails out contractors through providing fuel in ZW$.
“The issues of fuel have been aired several times. The fuel uptake was very low during the first phase though it was later exhausted. We are in the process of resuscitating the programme and from your reports; I am seeing that both local authorities have requested 4341 litres each.
“We are going to avail it any time soon through CMED and I encourage you to purchase the requested fuel at once and find means for your own storage,” said Major General (Rtd) Chanakira.
Chiredzi Town Council (CTC) as well as Chiredzi Rural District Council (CRDC) pleaded with government to provide them with fuel in Zimbabwean dollar as they do not have access to the US dollar required in the fuel market, which is giving a major blow to ERRP funds which are quickly eroded by inflation before their disposal.
CRDC’s Executive Officer for Technical Services Takudzwa Chimanya said local authorities do not have access to foreign currency to buy fuel for the ERRP programmes a factor that is heavily affecting their ERRP allocations from Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA) as they are almost using half of the funds on fuel purchases.
“For 2022, we were allocated ZW$ 44 million ERRP funds from ZINARA, with ten percent of the amount having been disbursed to the local authority. With this inflationary environment, where fuel prices are only calling for foreign currency, it seems crazy to indicate that we have used half of the amount towards fuel purchases as a litter of fuel is pegged at around ZW$ 750,” said Chimanya.
Acting Town Secretary for Chiredzi Town, Engineer Wesley Kauma also expressed the same sentiments that fuel was dragging down the smooth flow of the ERRP as they do have access to United States dollars to purchase fuel to use in the equipment they are hiring to carry out their duties.
“I am also appealing to government to reintroduce the fuel system which was used in the first phase of ERRP which was made available in ZW dollars. We are having a lot of challenges towards fuel purchases which require foreign currency,” said Eng Kauma.
Ngomla Investments Director Zivisai Paddington Sithole who spoke on behalf of contractors expressed concern over the payments which are being done in Zimbabwean dollars vis-a-viz fuel which is being sold in United States dollars saying it is dragging behind progress of the ERRP programmes.
“We thank you for honouring upcoming contractors in the ERRP programme. However, the market forces are making it difficult for the contractors to operate at full throttle as we are being paid using the Zimbabwean dollar while fuel on the market is being sold in United States dollars. This will heavily affect quality of work by contractors,” said Sithole.
The delayed completion of ERRP projects has been attributed to delayed disbursement of funds which will come after they had already been chewed by inflation as government will not revise budgets that would have been approved at time of tender offers.
In some cases government has been accused of awarding tenders to dodgy contractors some of whom are constructing poor roads that developed potholes and showed signs of deterioration only weeks after being constructed.
Masvingo Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Dr Jefta Sakupwanya once acknowledged the lack of adequate capacity on part of government to monitor and supervise contractors which he said might drive poor work though he promised such incompetent companies would be blacklisted.
“There was inadequate capacity for supervision and monitoring of contractors of these roads which could have led to the compromise in the quality of the roads,” said Dr Sakupwanya.
The desperate move by contractors to go to the parallel market to purchase fuel has been labelled by some sections of society as behind fuelling the parallel market rates of foreign currency trading so the contractors end up off-loading huge sums of the local currency in favour of the green back so that they can purchase fuel for their equipment.
