By Correspondent
Harare City Council has lost over US$200 000 after the contracted company failed to fulfil its duty to build the Mbare biogas digester.
Council has cancelled the contract after Synlak (Pvt) Ltd, paid US$465 290 for the project, failed to complete it within set timelines.
Acting Town Clerk Phakamile Mabhena revealed the loss.
Mabhena told the joint Parliamentary Portfolio Committees on Energy and Power Development and Environment, that they cancelled the contract.
“The contractor failed to rectify the breach, leaving the council with no option, but to cancel the contract.
Mabhena said he had written to the contractor on January 2, 2018, advising him of the cancellation of the contract.
“The city architect carried out an assessment of the work done against payments made, which established that the total value of the work done was US$243 535, suggesting an overpayment of US$221 755.”
“(However), the contractor failed to perform his obligations at the agreed timelines and the implementation period was extended by mutual consent.
“The contractor was paid in full (US$465 290) for the execution of the contract between the period September 17, 2015, to June 17, 2016.
Despite the revised timelines the contractor still failed to fulfil the contract.
The Mbare biogas digester was a project launched in December 2013 after Harare received a grant from the European Union.
The grant was under the non-State actors’ funding to construct a 100-kilowatt biogas project in Mbare.
It was meant to convert vegetable waste from the Mbare Musika vegetable market into biogas.