HARARE City Council (HCC) has been forced to make an embarrassing U-turn and withdraw its earlier claims that South Africa’s Nanotech Technologies had breached the US$5,4 million deal to install cost-efficient water treatment equipment at the Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant.
The project, first mooted in 2020 and is touted as a game-changer to the city’s perennial water challenges, had stalled due to financial disagreements and procedural missteps.
In a letter dated September 6 2023, HCC accused the South African firm of breaching the deal by failing to build an infant school and buy a vehicle for council as part of the agreement.
This elicited a pushback with Nanotech’s lawyers Honey and Blanckenberg telling the city that its demands were dishonest and were premised on non-existent clauses in the signed agreement.
The lawyers wrote that an August 29 meeting at the Local Government and Public Works ministry had resolved that Harare should forthwith fulfil its contractual obligations with Nanotech.
“Pursuant to that resolution the City of Harare team were asked whether Nanotech was in breach of any of its obligations and there was no assertion of any breach and more specifically no mention was made to the purported non-supply of a motor vehicle and/or construction of a school breach that is now mentioned for the first time. It follows that your fresh claim to the motor vehicle breach and failure to construct a school is patently dishonest and simply does not exist with reference to any reading of the contract as amended or varied between the City of Harare and Nanotech,” the lawyers wrote.
Harare was forced to beat a hasty retreat saying its earlier letter had errors and it was being withdrawn entirely.
The gaffe by Harare is a cause for concern and reflects badly on the local authority.
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That the acting town clerk could sit down and write the letter quoting imaginary clauses indicates that the city no longer has competent leaders save for a bunch of opportunists that appear to be looking for an avenue to exploit, usually for personal gains.
Where was the city’s legal department when the acting town clerk was quoting non-existent clauses?
In addition, Harare’s outrageous demands showed that it was looking for an excuse to wriggle out of a deal it signed for the provision of clean water to residents.
Such sloppiness exposes Harare to legal challenges which would result in the local authority forking out money to defend itself in courts instead of focusing on service delivery.
A city that clamours to attain world class status must be immune to such comedy of errors.
City managers must be on top of their game.
The ongoing commission of inquiry has unearthed that managers and councils are seeing Harare as a piggy bank, pocketing lucrative contracts at the expense of service delivery.
Councillors last week blasted city managers for prioritising self-enrichment, showering themselves with luxurious cars and lucrative perks, while neglecting service delivery.
Such criticism is justified as Harare does not give a hoot about service delivery as the recent letter to Nanotech showed.
