Much of that equipment barely worked: “Ageing equipment on the project and low efficiency leading to frequent breakdown and stalling of lead activities pushed the cost of the project upwards.”
The equipment that did work was moved between the airport road and other projects so often that, the audit says, there was a risk of double payments by government. Zinara lost at least $100,000 in over-ordering. Construction materials either disappeared or were left idle. Auditors found a crusher worth $40,000 lying idle on the roadside. Bitumen worth $20,000 had been left to go to waste, while other materials were being bought for more than they were worth.
By 2015, within two years of Zinara taking over the project, it had paid $11,4 million for the project.
Some estimates have put the total cost of the project at up to $80 million, much more than initially estimated.
What we do know, however, is that all the audits done on the road point to the fact that Harare City Council ratepayers lost money and land, while taxpayers, after Zinara’s takeover, also took their turn to lose millions.
As Harare councillors summarised it in their 2010 report, the airport road project “was not done in the best interests of the country in general and the council in particular.”- The Source
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