A Swiss construction company, Mabetex Group, which was hired by the Zimbabwean government to build 18 luxurious presidential villas in Mt Hampden ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit, has allegedly failed to meet the project’s completion deadline.
This has led officials to explore alternative accommodations for the visiting dignitaries in Harare.
The government allocated millions of dollars and deployed a 500-member workforce, supplemented by local artisans, to ensure the villas were ready in time for the arrival of several heads of state, including those from Namibia, Tanzania, Malawi, and Lesotho.
However, as of just two days before the summit, construction is still ongoing, with significant delays reported at the site.
While several high-profile leaders have started arriving, it is anticipated that they will be housed in well-known hotels such as the Hyatt Regency, Rainbow Towers, and Monomotapa Hotel, as officials recognize that this is not the first large-scale summit to be hosted in Zimbabwe and that suitable accommodation for VVIPs is available.
Despite optimistic assertions made earlier by Deputy Chief Secretary Amos Marawa regarding timely completion, the realities on the ground have prompted a reassessment of accommodations for the summit attendees, drawing attention to the initial promises of having the villas ready by mid-July.
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