THE Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) is set to take legal action against Diamond Base Company, a contractor hired to drill 20 boreholes in Chiadzwa, after the US$100 000 project failed to deliver functional water points, the Zimbabwe Independent can reveal.
The state-owned miner commissioned the boreholes last year as part of its community development obligations.
While drilling was completed, most installations remained inoperative, triggering protests from locals and forcing ZCDC to pursue litigation.
“The contractor did not deliver the desired results. ZCDC engaged them and sent them a letter of demand for them to finish the work. ZCDC will take the legal route,” a ZCDC spokesperson said.
The ZCDC spokesperson added that the boreholes were one of the initiatives the miner was implementing together with the Chiadzwa Community Share Ownership Trust (CCSOT) to roll out development projects.
“The project is one of the CCSOT projects ZCDC funded.”
As ZCDC prepares to square off with the drilling firm in court, the spokesperson added that the contract was awarded in line with public procurement regulations. Each borehole, the spokesperson added, was drilled at a cost of US$2 125.
Efforts to get a comment from the borehole-drilling firm were not successful at the time of going to print.
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