Govt threatens to halt Wadyajena's road project

GOVERNMENT in January threatened to stop a company linked to Zanu-PF Gokwe-Nembudziya Member of Parliament Justice Mayor Wadyajena (pictured) from proceeding with the construction of the Golden Valley-Sanyati Road, accusing the firm of failing to get the job done.

Wadyajena, through his company Mayor Contracting (Pvt) Ltd, was contracted to work on the road in question but, according to a letter dated 17 January 2022 addressed to the secretary for Transport and Infrastructural Development written by an official who signed off as S. Gomo, the Mashonaland West provincial roads engineer, the company had failed to perform, hence the proposal to cancel the contract.

 "The project engineer, acting in terms of Clause 65 (1) (e) of the ZGCC4 (1984), hereby writes to the employer certifying that the contractor, Mayor Contracting (Pvt) Ltd contracted to carry out the above-mentioned contract has failed to perform according to the conditions of contract," the letter read in part.

 "It is the opinion of the Project Engineer that the contractor is unable to execute the works in accordance to the approved programme of works.

"Find attached the notice of contract determination written to the contractor and response thereto which the project engineer has studied and reached a conclusion that the contractor is unable to execute the works. Furthermore, the contractor has not yet furnished the client with requisite performance bonds and insurances required for contract signing," Gomo wrote in the letter.

"We recommend that the employer proceed with contract determination," the letter, also copied to the chief director of roads, read in part. contacted for comment, Wadyajena denied that his company had been blocked from the project and told The NewsHawks that his team was on site working.

"That is all politics, we are on site right now working," Wadyajena said.

 In a letter signed by one P Wadyajena responding to the provincial engineer dated 6 January 2022, the company committed to finishing the work as agreed and pleaded for an extension within 35 days and blamed the Covid-19 pandemic and breakdown of equipment for the delay.

"We acknowledge our failure to finish all the works on the intended date of the 28th of December, 2021 due to some factors which were beyond our control," the letter by Mayor Contracting reads in part.

"In the latter days of November, 2021, most of our working personnel were affected by the prevailing Coronavirus and we had several positive cases therefore all who had been in contact had to go into self-quarantine in their respective homes to prevent any further spread of the virus within the camp."

 The company said it was now back on site and confirmed that 25% of the total works had been done by the time of writing the letter on 2 January 2022.

The firm pledged to work on the project at a more accelerated rate starting on 10 January 2022.

Observers have raised red flags over the awarding of tenders to companies linked to Zanu-PF and government officials who end up doing a shoddy job. Last year, Transport minister Felix Mhona conceded that some of the companies contracted to work on the country's major roads were doing a shoddy job and threatened to recall some of them if they do not change.