Chronicle Editor
Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
GOVERNMENT’S intervention in sourcing four water pumps for City of Gweru at a cost of US$440 000 has saved the local authority from paying an outrageous US$6 million for the same equipment.
Council recently invited tenders for the procurement of the four new water pumps to be installed at Amapongobwe Dam, an alternative to the drying Gwenhoro Dam.
Amapongobwe according to City Fathers is 70 percent full.
To avert a potential disaster, the local authority revealed that the lowest tender submitted had quoted US$6 million against a Government assisted quotation of merely US$440 000.
GCC acting finance director, Mr Owen Masimba, recently told a supplementary budget consultative meeting that they needed US$6 million to purchase four water pumps for Amapongobwe Dam.
However, the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing July Moyo addressing the National Assembly said GCC had made an outrageous tender for the four pumps.
“Council made a tender which was outrageous and required a lot of money, but we have now been able to get pumps that can pump more water than what was there. Because of the pumps that we are going to acquire from South Africa that are genuine, we are hoping to have those before two months for use at Amapongobwe so that we can address the water challenge,” he said.
In his state of the city address at Town House, Gweru Mayor Councillor Josiah Makombe said after approaching the Midlands Provincial Affairs Minister, Larry Mavima and Minister Moyo for Government assistance in procuring the pumps, the bill came down to US$440 000.
“We engaged the Honourable resident Minister Mavima to assist and eventually we managed to speak to Honourable July Moyo and with their assistance I am happy to say Government has agreed to loan us US$440 000 to procure four pumps that will ease the water situation that we have in the city.
“The quotations that we were getting from the tenders that we flighted was close to US$6 million and that is what we have been talking about but when we engaged the Minister who assisted us the quotations came to US$440 000,” he said.
“Probably the issue is about where one is procuring the pumps from and you need to remember that this is now a direct purchase from the supplier.
“So the suppliers in Zimbabwe normally inflate figures for reasons which I don’t know, and that is why we have this difference.”
Clr Makombe said Gwenoro Dam is now around 14 percent full and is left with five or six percent of water that can be pumped.
“So we need the pumps for Amapongobwe Dam which is about 70 percent full but the challenge is that it is not equipped and council has been running around to ensure that we have the pumps so that we avert the water crisis,” he said.
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