Gweru City faces waste nightmare

GWERU City Council continues to face a waste collection nightmare amid reports that a Harare engineering company, Deven Engineering, contracted to supply a new refuse truck is demanding a $36 000 top up to the $300 000 initial payment.

Early this year, Deven Engineering said it could not deliver the vehicle since the model had been phased out.

Acting town clerk, Vakai Chikwekwe said when council sent specification of the type of the truck it required, the firm then demanded a top up.

"They (Deven Engineering) indicated that there was need for a top up of $36 593," he said at a full council meeting last week. The best way forward is for council to cancel the contract with Deven, re-tender and claim both value and damages from the firm," he said.

In February this year, Gweru mayor, Charles Chikozho revealed that council had paid Deven Engineering in full, for the supply of a Nissan UD80 truck fitted with 19 cubic metre refuse compacter.

At that time, Chikozho indicated that council was mulling a lawsuit against the firm for being dishonest when it indicated that it could no longer supply the vehicle as it had been phased out, despite the local authority already having paid for it.

The council has, since the beginning of this year been running with only two refuse trucks, a situation that has compromised collection time-tables, posing a health hazard to the residents.