adminBeitbridge Bureau
A THREE months salary dispute between Costain Zimbabwe Limited and its employees has delayed the completion of the $22 million National Social Security Hotel project in Beitbridge.Costain Zimbabwe Limited is the main contractor. The stalemate has resulted in the opening of the 140 bed hotel being pushed to December from July.
NSSA is funding the construction of the building which will be operated by the Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG) upon completion.
Costain workers who spoke to our Harare Bureau on condition of anonymity last week said they had stopped working pending payment of their outstanding salaries.
The employees accused one of the company’s directors Mr David Martins of employing intimidatory tactics to silence them from demanding their outstanding salaries. The company employed close to 60 workers for the project.
“We are very worried with the situation which is unfolding here as 23 of us have been fired by Mr Martins for raising concerns over our outstanding salaries. When we approached him he told us that NSSA had not yet paid them hence the delay in payment of our salaries.
“However when we checked with NSSA they said this was not true. Most of the work was completed at the end of September but it seems our employer is not interested in paying us,” said one of the workers.
He said on average the majority of the workers earned between $300 and $500 per month. He added that their employer is insisting on keeping them at the site camp where they are being provided with one meal per day.
Mr Martins refused to comment on the issue. NSSA spokesman Mr Phillimon Chereni dismissed Costain’s claims saying they had paid the contractor in full and were keen to see the hotel open by December.
“We don’t owe Costain anything. As far as we are concerned we paid them their money. If they are disputing this they should give you figures and prove their case.
“We are now working on a few logistical issues and we are hopeful that the hotel will open its doors before the end of December,” he said.
On completion the hotel will also house two banks – FBC and Stanbic – which have started setting up their equipment, an office block, gym, swimming pool, casino, gazebo, bars, coffee shops, a restaurant and three conference rooms.
The project is being implemented under the Government’s National Economic Development Priority Programme that was introduced in 2006 though civil works went a gear up last year.
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