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'We are not here to fight Indian Borehole Driller', Local Drillers Speak out
04 Oct 2020 at 08:14hrs | Views
"We are not here to fight Indian Borehole Drillers, but to create a fair playing ground beneficial to locals as well", the Borehole Drillers Apex Council of Zimbabwe (BODACOZ) has spoken out.
In an interview with this reporter, BODACOZ President, Mr Kanyenze reiterated that the borehole drilling industry needed to be regularised to promote local drillers. He added that the Apex Council noted with concern the behaviour of some local drillers who were duping clients their monies and failed to effectively deliver their service.
"The public have since made an outcry over some drillers who are overcharging their services and subsequently fail to deliver their services. The Apex Council would take note of those grievances and bring perpetrators to book. Clients are opting for Indian drillers who are charging less for the service hence driving away business for locals. We are not here to fight these foreign drillers but we want to create a level ground for every driller to operate", said Mr Kanyenze.
"We have also noted that Indians are taking advantage of the cheap labour market, where they are outsource workers and locals are paid as little as US$5 for the job worth US$200. The working environment for the locals is also pathetic as some are not being provided with work-suits and medical cover in case of work related hazards", added Mr Kanyenze.
Another local driller, Mr Makumidze, highlighted that Indians are obtaining funding and equipment at zero deposit from their mother country, yet locals import drilling machinery at inflated prices from India. "They formed a front company called Splash which do all the casing for borehole drilling, and provide the casing to Indians only for free yet locals we have to pay for the same service. The business environment is no longer favourable for the locals to operate. It is not a question of inflating prices but Indians are at an advantage of not incurring the same operational costs we incur."
"Their cartel is more like goats, which identifies green grass and ravage the grass and move on to the next green pasture. This same situation happened in Zambia and Nigeria, they took away the drilling industry from Zambians and Nigerians and today they are in Zimbabwe. They do not follow the standard regulations set by Government and other drillers. Locals need to be empowered and these companies are for the future of our kids", lamented Makumidze
BODACOZ was recently formed to bridge the gap between Government, local drillers and the general public. The Council which will be launched soon seeks to address the challenges being faces by the general public and regularise the operations of local drillers.
In an interview with this reporter, BODACOZ President, Mr Kanyenze reiterated that the borehole drilling industry needed to be regularised to promote local drillers. He added that the Apex Council noted with concern the behaviour of some local drillers who were duping clients their monies and failed to effectively deliver their service.
"The public have since made an outcry over some drillers who are overcharging their services and subsequently fail to deliver their services. The Apex Council would take note of those grievances and bring perpetrators to book. Clients are opting for Indian drillers who are charging less for the service hence driving away business for locals. We are not here to fight these foreign drillers but we want to create a level ground for every driller to operate", said Mr Kanyenze.
Another local driller, Mr Makumidze, highlighted that Indians are obtaining funding and equipment at zero deposit from their mother country, yet locals import drilling machinery at inflated prices from India. "They formed a front company called Splash which do all the casing for borehole drilling, and provide the casing to Indians only for free yet locals we have to pay for the same service. The business environment is no longer favourable for the locals to operate. It is not a question of inflating prices but Indians are at an advantage of not incurring the same operational costs we incur."
"Their cartel is more like goats, which identifies green grass and ravage the grass and move on to the next green pasture. This same situation happened in Zambia and Nigeria, they took away the drilling industry from Zambians and Nigerians and today they are in Zimbabwe. They do not follow the standard regulations set by Government and other drillers. Locals need to be empowered and these companies are for the future of our kids", lamented Makumidze
BODACOZ was recently formed to bridge the gap between Government, local drillers and the general public. The Council which will be launched soon seeks to address the challenges being faces by the general public and regularise the operations of local drillers.
Source - Trevor Namenda
