via SA firm to fix Zimbabwean roads – Business News IOL.co.za March 10 2014 By Reuters
Zimbabwe’s capital Harare has agreed to sign a $400 million (R4.3 billion) deal with a South African company to upgrade its dilapidated road network, the state-owned Herald newspaper said on Monday.
The deal would be one of the largest infrastructure investments in a country shunned by Western governments and funding institutions such as the World Bank, because of its failure to repay billions of dollars of debt.
Harare, whose affairs are run by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, would set up a joint venture firm, Harare Roads Development Company, with Neo Capital of South Africa to run the project for a period of 30 years, according to the Herald.
An official at Johannesburg-based Neo Capital said only the company’s Chief Executive Vivien Natasen would give a response to the report, but he could not be reached by Reuters for a comment.
“Neo would contribute $400 million for the project. The Harare Roads Development Company would get its revenue from vehicle licence and billboard activities,” the Herald quoted minutes of a meeting of Harare’s councillors as saying.
Harare Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni and his top officials were out of the country and unavailable for comment.
President Robert Mugabe’s cash-strapped government says it requires $27 billion – more than twice the size of its economy – to fund a five-year plan to improve basic services and rebuild the impoverished country’s infrastructure.
COMMENTS
I suggest you get your money first then work on the roads. Or just hand over 51 percent which ever is easiest. If you do the work and expect to be paid you are living in fools paradise. The road of good intentions is littered with failures. Excuse the pun
neo speak to grp 5 before
When Preident Sata won the elections in Zambia recently, he called in roadworks and engineering companies, contracted by the state. His message was simple, “look here guys, payments have been made to you, albeit corruptly in many cases by the previous govt. Your work is way overdue or not done at all. No problem, I am giving you 3 months to get things moving”. A flurry of activity saw a lot of roads being fixed on highways and in Lusaka and other towns. Why give a S African company the job? Give it to correctly managed local companies (if any exist) to boost the economy.
thats it non exist!! look at the Plumtree- Mutare road….
Well said Jack, thats why its in SA’s interest that Zim remains chaotic under Zanu so they benefit.
I wonder if it was ever put to tender, I suppose its also prone to corruption.
Its unfortunate that this NEO Capital of South African does not know the people they want to do business with . I pity them.
Why pity then if ” your” roads will be fixed? Or are you not Zimbabwean?
HURUMENDE YEMBAVHA IYI
Tangai magadzira the situation of the country