Alpha gets reprieve, but . . .

Alpha Construction, whose contract to build 532 houses in Cowdray Park had been terminated by the Bulawayo City Council following its failure to fulfil the deal, has been given a reprieve to complete the project by the end of this year.

But this is on condition that the company secures a performance bond of $2.2 billion before it moves back to the site.

Alpha also has to provide the council with the list of people it allocated the 532 stands together with their housing waiting list forms.

The council terminated Alpha’s contract on October 6 last year, citing its failure to complete the project on time and several other anomalies that included multiple allocations of stands, as well as houses encroaching onto other stands.

The council also demanded $1.1 billion from the company so that it could rectify the mess. This amount was supposed to be paid by December 2 last year.

Alpha was awarded the contract in July 1996 but the agreement was only signed in February 2001. The council gave the company two years to finish the project but it has not completed it up to now.

According to the latest council minutes, the municipality held roundtable conferences with Alpha and the two parties had agreed that Alpha should secure a performance bond of $2.2 billion before moving back to the site and that it should complete all outstanding works by December 31 2005.

Alpha had to submit its programme of works to the director of engineering services by June 24.

It also had to submit the list of people allocated stands to the director of housing and community services by the same date.

Alpha had by last week not yet submitted the $2.2 billion performance bond, which is a prerequisite for it to resume work.

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