Zanu heavies win ZINWA tenders& as water services collapse-(22-02-07)

ovide for the City of Harare.
Officials at ZINWA revealed that the water authority, created to take over the duties of water treatment as well as sewage reticulation in major towns and cities, is operating on the same basis that give ruling party officials an opportunity to get tenders and loot from the parastatal.
One of the companies reported to be getting the tender to procure water treatment chemicals is Highdon Investments, owned by Macdonald Chapfika and which had the tender to provide Harare City Council with the chemicals as well as provide waste collection services.
Chapfika is brother to deputy minister of finance, David Chapfika.
It is also reported that another company, owned by the president’s nephew, Leo Mugabe has also been awarded a tender to provide services to ZINWA. Mugabe is an MP for Makonde.
“There have been negotiations with various companies and it is likely that Highdon and Leo Mugabe’s company will be awarded the tenders for procuring water treatment chemicals as well as repairing and maintaining sewage systems,” a source at ZINWA said.
Mugabe said he wasn’t in a position to comment on the operations of ZINWA and Chapfika was not available.
ZINWA has not followed tender regulations by advertising for applications from interested companies.
Water and Infrastructure Development minister, Munacho Mutezo said the water authority was still “setting up its operations and would soon announce and implement its programmes for solving the water and sewage problems in Harare and other places”.
ZINWA has already taken over water and sewage services for the Harare Metropolitan Province, which comprises the capital city and Chitungwiza, Epworth, Ruwa as well as Norton. It is also expected to take over Bulawayo where it faces stiff resistance.
A lot of questions have been raised about ZINWA’s capacity to solve the serious water and sewage problems faced by Harare and Bulawayo. Mutezo recently revealed that the water authority was owed $800 billion mostly by government in the form of debts.
An application made to government last week by ZINWA for money to help it operate had not been responded to by this week.
To worsen the plight of ZINWA, many ratepayers in Harare are boycotting payment of water bills in protest of poor services and poor quality. Bulawayo residents have also threatened rates boycotts if ZINWA takes over. – Itai Dzamara