UPDATED:Govt awards Tagwirei US$130 million dam construction contract

Harare- MILLIONAIRE businessman Kuda Tagwirei’s company Fossil Contracting fronted by his long time ally Obey Chimuka has been awarded a US$130 million tender to construct a 98 million cubic metre Ziminya dam in Nkayi district, Express Mail Zim can report.
This makes it Matabeleland’s third largest water body under development.
Fossil Contracting specialises in civil works, contract mining, road construction, earth works, building, structural works and plant hire and they recently won another government infrastructure contract on the Mbudzi interchange flyover worth US$85 million.
The Zimbabwe National Supply Authority (Zinwa) recently made the announcement in a notice of tender communique seen by Express Mail Zim.

Inside sources told this publication that Fossil engineers were already on the ground since last year , but the notice coincided with the acquisition of stake in Larfage.

“It simply means cement for the construction will be coming from Larfage which is tantamount to paying your left pocket to the right pocket.

“Quarry stones for dam pillars will be supplied by Fossil Mining from their intrests in Chivhu and Mt Hampden .

“So it’s about cementing hegemony in all sectors of the economy just like what the Guptas did in South Africa,” said a highly placed source who refused to be identified.

The development riled some sections of the business community and economic analysts who questioned the company’s track record in dam construction.
“It seems they are taking over all government infrastructure projects.
“Do they have the capacity and reputation?
“Recently they took over Lafarge through Fossil Mining which was a great traversty of justice considering that they have no track record in manufacturing,” said an economic analyst who preffered anonymity.
“What criterion was used in awarding the tender?
“I understand reputable construction and civil works companies also bid.
“The likes of Tawana Engineering as so forth,” he added.
Interestingly, the company appeared in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s foreign currency externalization list released in 2018 and it remains unclear whether they paid back the alleged externalised funds.

The dirty list of “externalizers’ allegedly siphoned billions of dollars to off shore accounts during the late former president Robert Mugabe’s era.

Last year, Fossil bought a 4.4% stake in Great Dyke Investments for US$30 million, partnering with Kuvimba Mining House and Russia’s Vi Holdings in the platinum venture.
Efforts to get a comment from Chimuka in regards project commencement and projected timelines hit a snag as his mobile phone was unavailable and he did not respond to questions sent to him at the time of writing.