Harare’s acting town clerk, Phakamile Mabhena Moyo has abandoned threats to terminate a US$5,4 million water purification deal with South African’s Nanotechnology, which he accuses of reneging on a car purchase agreement.
If the termination had been effected, the local authority would have sacrificed its estimated four million residents’ water supply for the car.
In a September 6 letter to Nanotech — which is already fighting battles with Harare over payment modalities for its services — Moyo also claimed the South African firm had failed to honour an undertaking to build a school for Zimbabwe's capital city.
He gave Nanotech a 21-day ultimatum to deliver, or be forced out of the transaction, which involved the installation of a chlorine dioxide plant at Morton Jaffray.
“On the 5th of May 2019, City of Harare and your company entered into an agreement for the supply, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance of chlorine dioxide water treatment technology at Morton Jaffray,” Moyo wrote.
“While it is acknowledged that you did submit a grant chart which indicated construction on the site would commence on the 8th May 2023, to date no progress has been made towards the construction of the council infant school.
“In terms of clause 6.2.11 of the memorandum of agreement (MoA), you were supposed to supply a brand-new NP 300 vehicle, which is part of your obligations under the agreement. Various engagements have been made yet you have failed to honour this obligation…By copy of this letter, City of Harare hereby gives you 21 working days’ period in terms of clause 9.5.1 of the MoA to remedy the breach, failing which City of Harare shall proceed to terminate the MoA,” the letter reads.
Nanotech took umbrage and instructed lawyers at Honey and Blanckenberg to seek further clarity on Harare’s demands.
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“There is no clause 9.5.1 in the copy agreement provided to us initialled and signed by all parties in 2020,” the legal firm argued in a letter dated September 23.
“ln paragraph 3 of the 6 September 2024 letter, mention is made that ''construction would.... start after site handover and was to be completed within a period of 24 months from the date of signature. None of that appears from the documents in our possession. Kindly point out to us what relevant clause you rely upon for this assertion' which we reiterate, is unknown to our client.
“Your paragraph 4 is manifestly perplexing in that it makes mention of the “supply of a brand-new NP 300 vehicle as part of …our client’s obligations under the agreement. This purported contractual obligation will possibly appear from the document that you rely upon which is unknown to exist by our client,” the letter said.
When reached for commented, Moyo said the letter had been delivered to a wrong address.
“That letter was misdirected to Nanotech,” Moyo told the Zimbabwe Independent.
“That has since been rectified. It was not meant for them. It was meant for a developer of a school,” Moyo added.
However, a local representative of Nanotech said the Harare boss had not officially withdrawn his demand.
