Unki Mine suspends construction of 940 houses

Midlands Bureau
Anglo-American platinum company, Unki Mine, has allegedly suspended operations at its Impali Farm housing project in Shurugwi after failing to reach an agreement with three local construction companies sub-contracted to construct 940 houses.The three companies, Citizen, Bambanani JV and Selbridge, were failing to reach an agreement with Unki Mine over allegedly “exploitative” contracts that the companies said were uneconomic.

It is reported that Unki on Tuesday last week gave the three companies a 24-hour ultimatum to sign the contracts or risk having them terminated.

The suspension of operations has put more than 700 jobs at risk. A director of Bambanani JV, a Mr Chiwara, confirmed that the three sub-contracted companies had suspended operations at the Impali Farm construction site.

He said the companies were still trying to engage the platinum mine to resolve the matter amicably.
“I can confirm that at the moment we have suspended operations at Impali Farm in Shurugwi. However, we are engaging Unki Mine so that the matter can be resolved amicably. I cannot give further details because we do not want to blow the matter out of proportion,” said Mr Chiwara.

Unki Mine general manager Mr Walter Nemasase confirmed the existence of a “slight” misunderstanding between the mining company and the three sub-contracted companies over the terms and conditions of their contracts.

“I am aware of the matter but at the moment I am in South Africa and may not be able to give you a detailed account. The matter is also still under investigations. I will be able to give a detailed and informative comment once the investigations have been completed. Let me refer you to the site manager, Mr John Nyamujara,” he said.

Mr Nyamujara denied that the company had terminated the contracts of the sub-contracted companies.
“I can only tell you that we never terminated contracts for any sub-contracted companies,” he said.
He, however, refused to elaborate citing professional reasons.

The contractors had completed constructing roads, storm water drains, a raw water abstraction pump station, a water treatment plant, a waste water treatment plant and a potable water reservoir and were in the process of completing the electrical reticulation at the site.

The construction of the houses had started with about 15 percent of the 940 houses at foundation level. Unki Mine is now operating at full capacity producing 120 000 tonnes of platinum ore per month at its Shurugwi plant.