HARARE City Council intends to purchase new refuse trucks amid revelations that the city has thrown in the towel on the recovery of 15 refuse compactors the local authority bought from a local supplier four years ago, but the trucks were never delivered.
On Tuesday, the City of Harare advertised an invitation for tenders for the supply and delivery of refuse compactors.
However, the advert did not specify how many refuse compactors the local authority needed.
In 2016, the Harare City Council purchased 15 refuse compactors at a cost of US$3,1 million from FAW Zimbabwe (Mass Breed Investments), but the trucks were not delivered.
A councillor, who spoke to the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) on condition of anonymity said: “We have been crying for those 15 trucks which were purchased four years back, but are not coming.”
Lauretta Marembo, the director for the Young Volunteers for Environment (YVE), said: “The ignoring of the procured trucks which were not delivered is a clear indication that there is corruption.”
In August 2020, CHRA petitioned Parliament over the matter, but there hasn’t been action over the issue.
The inaction by the city on the issue raises more questions than answers, especially when the city has sought to buy new trucks without demanding the purchased ones that were not delivered.
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Despite government’s stance on fighting corruption, the issue of the non-delivered refuse trucks has not been an interesting one in its anti-corruption agenda.
Currently, the City of Harare has 14 functional refuse trucks to service 46 wards of which most of them have surpassed their lifespan.
Section 194(1)(a) and (b) of the Constitution for “efficient and economical use of resources.”
CHRA calls on government to take action on the 15 non-delivered refuse trucks as in this lies the root cause of waste collection challenges in the capital city.
CHRA Harare
