Source: Govt commends local contractors – herald

Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga (centre) flanked by Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) chief executive Dr Clever Ruswa (second from left) and chief executive of Zimbuild Property Investments Dr Tinashe Manzungu (right) at a tour of the authority’s new head office under construction in Harare on Wednesday. — Picture: Charles Muchakagara

Mukudzei Chingwere

Senior Reporter

VICE PRESIDENT Dr Constantino Chiwenga has toured the construction site of the new Procurement Regulatory Authority (PRAZ) head office, expressing satisfaction with progress made by the firm undertaking the project.

The tour took place after the Vice President had officially opened the inaugural Southern African Public Procurement Forum and presided over the launch of the Zimbabwe Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems Report 2026.

The activities formed part of the Second Republic’s wider drive to modernise public procurement systems and strengthen transparency, value for money and accountability in Government contracting.

Speaking at the site, VP Chiwenga said he was impressed by what he observed, particularly the structural works and the pace of delivery.

“I am quite impressed by the progress that has been made so far,” said VP Chiwenga.

“The building looks solid, strong and the dates they have given me is that soon after Christmas they will be done. I hope they are going to beat that deadline with what I have seen.”

The Vice President said the new offices will be ideal for PRAZ as they will cut rental costs.

“The economy is growing and you really want things to move very fast not to say, when a decision needs to be taken in a day or in a matter of hours it takes weeks to be taken because people are scattered all over.

“Once they are all grouped here as PRAZ staff, it will improve efficiency,” said VP Chiwenga.

The Second Republic has emphasised the need to grow the economy and has along the way implemented practical steps anchored on the “Zimbabwe is open for business” strategy meant to attract Foreign Direct Investment in the country and drive the economy towards upper middle-income status by 2030.

As a result, several capital-intensive projects are taking shape in the and construction companies are lurching onto the infrastructure development activity with different start-ups and operations taking advantage.

The contractor at the PRAZ site Dr Tinashe Manzungu commended the Second Republic’s approach to contract local companies in the construction of the country’s key infrastructure.

“The construction here is on course and we will meet the deadline, we are supposed to hand over this project on December, 27 and we will meet that deadline,” said Dr Manzungu.

“As contractors we are happy and grateful that the government is giving local companies these big contracts to participate in the infrastructure development of our country.

“The honours are now on us to ensure that we do not betray this trust bestowed on us by the Government, we should do quality work.”

Prioritising local companies is informed by the Government’s mantra that ‘Nyika inovakwa Nevene Vayo/ ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo mantra which encourages citizens to take full ownership and responsibility for developing their own country without relying solely on external help.

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