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Prosper Ndlovu in Hwange
LOCAL authorities have been urged to tighten procurement processes in order to weed out fake contractors in order to ensure ratepayers get value for their money.
Speaking during the annual rural local authorities’ 10th Engineers Conference at the Hwange Safari Lodge on Tuesday, the delegates expressed concern over the shoddy work done by some contractors.
Addressing the delegates, Matabeleland North Provincial Administrator Ms Latiso Dlamini, said incompetent contractors were on the prowl and urged local authorities to exercise caution when awarding tenders.
“As the Local Government we are mandated to monitor and supervise the operations of councils but we are concerned about the performance of some contractors. We have heard of contractors who do not even have equipment or any known financial statement being awarded tenders while some demand payment even before doing the work,” said Ms Dlamini.
She said councils should ensure that they get value for their money by engaging competent contractors.
Ms Dlamini said council officials working with the political leadership, should come up with targets that can be monitored and evaluated.
“This is very important because the public must be satisfied that their taxes are well used. Councils must always remember that what they do with public funds is everybody’s business,” she said.
Contributing on the same issue, the engineers also said contractors should be closely monitored to ensure that they do not do shoddy work.
Binga engineer Mr Benjamin Utete said procurement committees should be run by people with the requisite skills and knowledge who are able to assess and weed out incompetent contractors.
The Principal Director responsible for technical services in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Engineer Eric Gumbi, said councils were discouraged from paying contractors before doing the work.
“The issue of advance payment is discouraged because there have been many defaulters out there. Let the contractor get start-up capital from the bank and not from council,” he said.
Engineer Gumbi said the biggest problem facing councils was lack of adequate supervision of contractors.
Engineering consultant Mr Paul Nyamutsaka from Sesani Projects said procurement processes should be managed in a professional manner to ensure that councils get value for their money.
Zimbabwe Local Government Association (Zilga) finance and administration director Mrs Lucy Furamera complained that some roads done by certain contractors develop faults a few months after completion.
Tsholotsho engineer Mr Lawrence Nhandara said councils should clearly set contract terms in the tender documents to avoid being cheated by contractors.
Mwenezi RDC planning officer Mr Cletous Machara said sometimes local authorities were disturbed by interference by politicians and said such tendencies must be avoided to promote efficiency and transparency.
In a related matter Ms Dlamini said local authorities required skilled manpower, especially in the engineering department, viewed as the engine behind service delivery. She said there was a need to provide incentives to retain engineers she said were leaving the country in search of greener pastures.
Online Reporter