Zimbabwe: Govt Backtracks On Bulawayo-Vic Falls Road Rehabilitation Claims As Concerns Are Raised Over Corruption in Tender Awards

The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has backtracked on its statement that contractors are now on site and rehabilitation of the dilapidated Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road will soon start, claiming “wrong information was posted”.

A state-run newspaper on Monday published an article stating that eight contractors involved in the rehabilitation of the Bulawayo-Vic Falls road were now on site, which was shared on the Transport Ministry’s X page.

This was despite an advert inviting contractors to bid for the upgrade of the road, stating that the tender process only closes on April 29, raising concerns that the contracts had been corruptly awarded.

For those who found it hard to believe that Emmerson Mnangagwa is the most corrupt politician Zimbabwe has ever had, here is your answer.They floated a tender for the repair of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road, and the closing date for this tender process is today, 29 April… https://t.co/ptkcv55ziK pic.twitter.com/5pkcogUJuC– Hopewell Chin’ono (@daddyhope) April 29, 2025

In a statement, the Permanent Secretary for Transport and Infrastructural Development, Eng. Joy Makumbe said no contractor has been awarded the tender for the 440.4 kilometre project.

“The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development wishes to unreservedly apologise to members of the public and all its stakeholders for posting a Twitter message containing incorrect information on April 29, 2025, at 09:18 hours.

“The Twitter message tagged a story published on April 28, 2025, by The Herald Online, which was headlined: ‘Victoria Falls contractors on site.’ The Ministry acknowledges that no contractor is on site, as the tender process is still ongoing,” the statement reads.

The permanent secretary said the error was due to a breach of internal protocol caused by their social media officer, who failed to verify the information.

Added Makumbe, “One of the officers assigned the duty to manage the Ministry’s Twitter handle conceded and acknowledged that she breached the internal Standard Operating Procedures for information verification by not verifying the authenticity of the facts with the technical officials in the Department of Roads before posting.”

The Ministry stated that an evaluation committee will now review the bids before submitting its recommendations to the Special Procurement Oversight Committee.

“The Ministry wishes to set the record straight on the matter as follows: the tender which was issued on April 17, 2025, closed on April 29, 2025, at 11:00 hours.

“After the closure of the bidding period, an evaluation committee will convene, whereupon the outcome will be sent to the Special Procurement Oversight Committee for oversight of the tender process before awarding the same to successful bidders,” said Makumbe.

The reconstruction of the entire road is set to take 36 months, according to the Minister of Transport, Felix Mhona. The Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road is of major concern as it leads to Zimbabwe’s main tourist attraction.