Ministry rubbishes Coltart's claims over Harare-Beitbridge highway

The Ministry of Roads and Infrastructural Development has dismissed allegations by Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart that contractors linked to politically connected individuals compromised the quality of the Harare-Beitbridge Highway by using substandard construction methods.

Coltart made the claims during a plenary discussion at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, where he called for an independent audit of the multi-million-dollar highway project.

The Harare-Beitbridge Highway, one of Zimbabwe's flagship infrastructure developments, is reported to be approximately 84 percent complete and serves as a critical transport corridor linking Zimbabwe to South Africa and the wider Southern African region.

Speaking during a discussion on corruption and governance in Zimbabwe, Coltart alleged that four of the five contractors working on the 582-kilometre road had failed to adhere to required engineering standards.

He claimed that while contractors were expected to use granite chips in the road construction process, some had allegedly mixed sand with the granite material, resulting in sections of the highway already showing signs of deterioration.

"If you drive on those parts of the road, it looks good but they are starting to deteriorate. The part of the road constructed by the company which used granite chips correctly is good," Coltart said.

He linked the allegations to broader concerns about corruption and what he described as increasing state capture in Zimbabwe.

The contractors involved in the project include Bitumen World, Masimba Holdings, Tensor Systems, Exodus and Company, and Fossil Contracting.

Coltart's remarks come amid public debate over perceived differences in road quality, surface finish, road markings and signage along various sections of the highway.

However, the Ministry of Roads and Infrastructural Development has strongly disputed the allegations, insisting that any substitution of construction materials would have been detected through mandatory quality assurance procedures.

Deputy Director of Roads Construction Engineer Virginia Mawere described the claims as technically implausible.

"The allegation is technically implausible. Granite chips and sand perform entirely different structural roles in bituminous pavement and are not interchangeable," said Mawere.

"Any such substitution would have produced immediately detectable failures in Marshall Stability testing, mix design approval and bitumen extraction tests, all of which were contractually mandated at production and post-lay stages."

She added that the alleged substitution could not have passed the prescribed testing and certification processes without being identified.

"The ministry does not accept characterisations made without reference to specific test certificates, contract sections or verifiable site data. Any party holding such evidence is invited to submit it formally to the Permanent Secretary," she said.

Mawere also revealed that the ministry intends to commission an independent technical assessment of selected highways to further verify compliance with engineering and construction standards.

Masimba Holdings also rejected the allegations.

The company's marketing executive, Itai Magande, said the claims lacked supporting evidence.

"It is Coltart's view and there is no evidence to support the allegations on the ground," said Magande.

Tensor Systems co-director Engineer Ngonidzashe Musowe declined to comment directly on the allegations, referring all inquiries to the ministry.

"The Ministry of Transport inspects all works done by contractors on major government roads. As contractors we are not allowed to comment to the media," Musowe said.

Efforts to obtain comment from Bitumen World, Exodus and Company, and Fossil Contracting were unsuccessful.

Despite the denials, Coltart maintained that independent audits were necessary to strengthen public confidence in major state-funded projects.

"I do believe that there needs to be independent audits of nearly all government tenders, including the construction of the Beitbridge Border Post, the Beitbridge-Harare Road, the Trabablas Interchange and the ZEC 2023 election procurement exercise, amongst others," he said.

The Harare-Beitbridge Highway reconstruction programme has been one of the government's flagship infrastructure initiatives, aimed at improving road safety, reducing travel times and enhancing regional trade and transport efficiency along one of Southern Africa's busiest transport corridors.