Beatific Gumbwanda
17 Feb 2017 – CHIREDZI – Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers Association (CHIRRA) has attributed tender corruption by the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) to the appalling state of some roads in Chiredzi, saying undeserving companies were being given tenders.
This follows the deterioration of Chiredzi’s Lion Drive barely two months after it was commissioned.
Lion Drive was surfaced by a company known as Clime Construction on behalf of Zinara but the road has disintegrated spectacularly and it now looks worse than roads that have been there for 50 years and more.
CHIRRA chairperson, Jonathan Muusha Mupamombe said the public was being deprived of their right to proper services because of official corruption in high places.
“We blame Zinara for this mess. Their corrupt tender system has benefited a few individuals at huge expense to the rate-paying public.
“Zinara told us that they haven’t paid Clime Construction in full so to make peace residents, Clime Construction must fully reconstruct the road at their own expense and they must do a proper job this time,” said Mupamombe.
Clime Construction is reportedly owned by Munyaradzi Harovi, a Masvingo-based business man who has been nicknamed ‘Bvura-Bvura’ – a satirical moniker for a shoddy way of carrying out tasks.
After the Lion Drive debacle became apparent in January, council condemned the road and it was said the company did not have a solid track record in civil engineering, but had won the tender nonetheless.
“I have condemned Lion Drive because it was not done well as potholes have developed. I have since informed Zinara of the present situation and we are no longer going to pay Clime Construction of their balance because they are supposed to reconstruct it,” Chiredzi Town Council chairperson, Francis Moyo told TellZim News then.
The Lion Drive project was finished way behind schedule and after a public outcry from stakeholders.
When contacted for comment, Munyaradzi ‘Bvura-Bvura’ Harovi accused this publication of publishing falsehoods.
“There is nothing I can tell you. Why didn’t you consult with me first? Write what you want there with your councillors I don’t mind,” Harovi said.local
