The Sunday Mail
Online Reporter
LOCAL Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo says the Pomona waste-to-energy deal signed between Harare City Council (HCC) and Geogenix B.V can only be stopped through legal action and not a council resolution.
On Thursday, HCC passed a resolution to suspend the deal and examine the contract.
In a statement on Friday, Minister Moyo said all procedures, including Cabinet scrutiny, were followed before the deal was signed off.
“With respect to the project, we wish to advise that all procedures were followed,” he said.
“The City and the investor agreed on terms as to how to execute the joint venture, while the investment appraisal was done by the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) and also recommended to the Joint Venture Committee.
“All the recommendations from this process went to Cabinet, which is the highest executive authority, for approval and a lower organ cannot violate the principle of subsidiarity.”
Following Cabinet’s approval, Minister Moyo said, the joint venture agreement was closely analysed by Government lawyers, including the Attorney-General’s Office, before it was signed.
“The waste management project, amongst other benefits, will create employment, generate power and assist in refuse management,” he said.
“We condemn this conduct, which amounts to cheap political grandstanding at the expense of the country, and it is, therefore, necessary to state that the project will not be stopped unless done so by judicial action.”
