Bulawayo, (New Ziana)-The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has retracted a statement indicating that contractors for the Victoria Falls Road project had moved on site.
In a statement on Thursday, Ministry permanent secretary Joy Makumbe acknowledged and apologised for an erroneous post on the their official X (formerly Twitter) handle, which had incorrectly claimed that construction work had already begun.
“The Ministry unreservedly apologises to members of the public and its stakeholders for a posting on its X handle containing wrong information on April 29, 2025, at 0918 AM,” she said.
The misleading post had referenced a Herald Online article published on April 28, under the headline “Victoria Falls contractors on site.”
However, Makumbe clarified that the tender process is still ongoing, and no contractors have been deployed.
“The Ministry acknowledges that no contractor is on site, as the tender process is still going.
“One of the officers assigned the duty to manage the Ministry’s X handle conceded and acknowledged that she breached the internal Standard Operating Procedure of Information Verification by not verifying facts with technical officials in the Department of Roads before posting,” she stated.
Makumbe provided a detailed update on the procurement timeline, emphasizing that the Ministry is following due diligence in awarding the contract.
“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 hrs.
“After the closure of the bidding period, an evaluation committee will sit, whereupon the outcome will be sent to the Special Procurement Oversight Committee for scrutiny before awarding the project to successful bidders,” she explained.
She reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to transparency and accuracy in public communications, acknowledging the confusion caused by the erroneous post.
“The Ministry remains committed to the need for sharing correct information with members of the public,” Makumbe said.
New Ziana
