News / National
Mnangagwa govt misses villas deadline
16 Aug 2024 at 09:08hrs | Views
The Zimbabwean government has missed the deadline for completing the 18 state-of-the-art presidential villas in Mt Hampden, which were intended to host heads of state during the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit scheduled for tomorrow.
Despite hiring a Swiss construction company, Mabetex Group, and importing materials from the UAE, the villas remain unfinished. The company deployed 500 workers and invested significant funds, but construction continued up to just two days before the summit.
With the villas incomplete, government officials are scrambling to arrange alternative accommodations for the visiting leaders. It is expected that they will be housed at three hotels in Harare: Hyatt Regency (formerly Meikles Hotel), Rainbow Towers, and Monomotapa Hotel.
Deputy Chief Secretary Amos Marawa, overseeing the project, did not respond to inquiries. Previously, Marawa had anticipated the villas would be completed by mid-July, but this timeline was not met.
Information Minister Jenfan Muswere reported other completed infrastructural projects, including roads and a VVIP lounge at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, but did not provide an update on the presidential villas. He highlighted the completion of critical access routes, a new water reservoir, power supply upgrades, and high-speed internet services for the summit.
The SADC summit, where Zimbabwe will assume the rotational chairmanship from Angola, is now faced with logistical adjustments due to the delay in villa construction.
Despite hiring a Swiss construction company, Mabetex Group, and importing materials from the UAE, the villas remain unfinished. The company deployed 500 workers and invested significant funds, but construction continued up to just two days before the summit.
With the villas incomplete, government officials are scrambling to arrange alternative accommodations for the visiting leaders. It is expected that they will be housed at three hotels in Harare: Hyatt Regency (formerly Meikles Hotel), Rainbow Towers, and Monomotapa Hotel.
Information Minister Jenfan Muswere reported other completed infrastructural projects, including roads and a VVIP lounge at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, but did not provide an update on the presidential villas. He highlighted the completion of critical access routes, a new water reservoir, power supply upgrades, and high-speed internet services for the summit.
The SADC summit, where Zimbabwe will assume the rotational chairmanship from Angola, is now faced with logistical adjustments due to the delay in villa construction.
Source - newsday
