adminPamela Shumba Senior Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council has taken legal action against the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Trust (MZWT) over a $20,000 rental debt.
The city council leased out the former Art Gallery offices along Robert Mugabe Way on monthly rentals of $300 to MZWT, but the trust has not been paying its rentals which have accumulated to $20,118,70.
The primary objective of the MZWT was to facilitate the execution of the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project, in which the city council is an interested party.
The city council said it had resolved to revisit the relevance of the Trust in light of the National Zambezi Water Project Advisory Council, which has not been functional after the change of ministers in 2013.
The trust started using the premises in 2004 when the first phase of the project, the Gwayi-Shangani Dam took off.
According to the latest council minutes, the council last month sent a final demand for payment through its lawyers Lazarus and Sarif.
The trust, however, appealed to the city council to suspend legal action against them.
In a letter written to the council, the MZWT said it was still trying to seek investors to assist in the implementation of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) in line with Zim-Asset.
“We wish to plead with the council to appreciate and understand our situation and allow us the opportunity to proceed with this critical project for not only the City of Bulawayo but the whole surrounding region for socio-economic upliftment and general prosperity,” reads the letter.
“In the meantime, we request that the city council suspends legal action against the MZWT. As soon as our PPP arrangements materialise, we will resume our rental payments and clear all outstanding arrears promptly.”
The Trust indicated that it was experiencing serious economic challenges that have made it difficult for them to pay their rentals.
“Being a trust we’re not primarily a profit making business. We’ve struggled to raise the rentals due to economic hardships that have decimated our funds and left us in a position difficult to reverse like a commercial business could have,” continued the letter.
“The construction of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam, which was our first phase took off in 2004, but struggled to proceed according to plans due to the non-payment by the then Ministry of Water Resources from 2010 to 2015.”
MZWT said despite the setback there are investors who are coming to participate under the PPPs.
“We’re on the verge of a breakthrough and it would be counter-productive for the city council to resort to legal action,” said MZWT.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter