ZPC seeks new contractor

Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) is looking for a new contractor to redo the US$3 million housing project that was abandoned seven years ago after the previous contractor was stopped for building “sub-standard” houses in Hwange.

The block of 28 houses was built on a plain along Chibondo stream behind Don Bosco and was abandoned after the walls started cracking.

Only one of the houses is at foundation level while 27 had been roofed with interior works being done. The houses have turned into a white elephant and criminals have reportedly taken advantage of them and are using them as sex havens as well as hide-outs from where they occasionally launch attacks on unsuspecting residents in nearby suburbs.

Illegal brick moulders also use the incomplete houses to hide from Hwange Local Board authorities during raids.

There are fears the place could also be a wetland which could be the reason for the cracking walls while some of the houses are less than the recommended 30 metres away from the stream.

Responding to emailed questions, Zesa acting spokesperson Ms Prisca Utete said the power utility company had re-tendered the project with a view to redo the houses and complete the project.

The complex is a block of structures built in a townhouse set-up and are meant to accommodate ZPC workers especially those that live at Ingagula next to the power station where they have endured air pollution from the power plant.

“The organisation has taken a route of re-tendering for the outstanding work to ensure that the project is completed as anticipated. The contract was US$3 257 467 of which US$2 931 720 was paid for the achieved milestones. The contract went through the formal tendering process and was approved by the then State Procurement Board,” said Ms Utete.

She said ZPC did due diligence to check capacity of the contractor before implementing the project although she could not be drawn into revealing the name of the contractor.

The Chronicle was told that the contractor, a Harare company, was stopped from continuing because it had done a shoddy job as the houses started cracking.

Ms Utete said progress was however, stalled when the contractor requested for an upward variation to the contract price which ZPC objected to leading to eventual termination of contract.

The houses have as a result been lying idle for the past seven years raising the ire of residents because of criminal activities.

Ms Utete said no official reports of criminal activity had been made but steps will be taken to ensure that corrective and remedial action is put in place. She said the housing complex is guarded.

Hwange-based Green Shango Environment Trust has been engaging authorities over the houses saying they are an environmental hazard as they are on a wetland, posing danger to the people who will occupy them.

The Trust’s programmes director Ms Rudolphine Nyoni said there is need for proper sustainable pre-planning with clear environmental impact assessment before any capital project is done.

“With Zimbabwe’s urban population growing rapidly, urban settlement is highly on demand and wetlands are in danger of being occupied.

Houses built on these wetlands are prone to flooding and collapsing through structural failure, cracking and bending leading to a reduced lifespan.

“Those ZPC houses are on a wetland and are a health hazard as they are prone to flooding. We are concerned because now they are an environmental eyesore as they are being used for obscenities and crime and that’s causing land pollution. Besides, this is a waste of resources for the local authority, developer and beneficiaries,” said Ms Nyoni.

Government is currently crafting a wetlands policy which will guide local authorities on usage of wetlands.

National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe last week commissioned the restart of a housing project in Hwange Local Board’s area where 2 145 stands will be developed, but there are concerns that some of the beneficiaries had already moved on site and some of them built houses on areas feared to be prone to flooding along streams. — @ncubeleon.