adminMashudu Netsianda Senior Court Reporter
THE Bulawayo High Court has rescinded a default judgment ordering National University of Science and Technology (Nust) to pay a local construction company more than $300,000 for the services it rendered to the university. In the court application for rescission, Nust is the applicant while Technoexpert Construction (Pvt) Ltd was cited as the respondent.
The ruling by High Court judge, Justice Lawrence Kamocha, follows an application made by Nust challenging the order granted in favour of the construction company last year in October.
Technoexpert Construction (Pvt) Ltd last year filed summons at the High Court demanding $344,576,75 from Nust for the construction works.
Justice Kamocha granted the order in favour of Nust by setting aside the default judgment.
“It is ordered that the order of this court granted on October 2, 2014, under case number 1954/14 be and is hereby rescinded. Applicant is hereby granted leave to file its appearance to defend within five days of uplifting of this order,” ruled Justice Kamocha.
Nust, in its application filed through lawyers Moyo and Nyoni Legal Practitioners, said it did not willfully neglect or fail to defend the summons, arguing that the papers went to a wrong office resulting in delays in responding.
The university also challenged the criteria used by Technoexpert Construction to convert the bill into United States dollars given that the contract had quoted the work in Zimbabwean dollars.
Nust registrar, Fidelis Mhlanga, in his founding affidavit, queried the criteria used by Technoexpert Construction in coming up with the figures. According to the court papers, the contract signed by the two parties stated that Nust was to pay Technoexpert Construction Z$39,797,191,13 for the construction works.
“The parties’ relationship was based on a written contract which clearly states that the contract sum is Z$39,797,191,13. No document was placed before the court in any form to show that the parties agreed on a variation or revised contract sum,” said Mhlanga.
He argued that all the capital expenses are paid for by the government of Zimbabwe.
“As a result any certificate sent to the university is forwarded to the government. However, before that is done, the university must be satisfied that the amounts in the certificate are justified,” said Mhlanga.
He further argued that the money appearing in the penultimate certificate was for expenses incurred and paid for during construction as it was post Zimbabwe dollar era.
Nust said the respondent hoodwinked the court into believing that all the amounts were due in US dollars against the supposedly agreed contract sum in local currency.
Mhlanga said the university has a strong bona fide defence against the construction company’s claim.
In May, Nust was also dragged to court by an electrical engineering company over a debt of more than $200,000.
The debt emanated from mechanical and electrical engineering services rendered to the university last year for proposed student hostels.
In the court papers which were filed at the Bulawayo High Court, Nust was cited as the defendant while Reclon Consulting Engineers (Pvt) Limited is the plaintiff in the matter.
Online Reporter