The City of Bulawayo awarded procurement contracts worth US$1 505 325,38 in April 2026 even as infrastructure projects stall, suppliers go unpaid, and contractors abandon sites over pricing disputes.
According to council minutes from a May 21, 2026 procurement report, town clerk Christopher Dube confirmed 22 contracts were awarded during the period.
Goods dominated the list with 15 contracts, followed by five non-consultancy services, while works and consultancy services accounted for one each.
Competitive bidding and framework agreements each made up 40,91% of awards.
Direct procurement and request-for-quotation methods were used sparingly, at 9,09% each.
Bulawayo-based firms won 14 contracts, while Harare companies took eight.
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However, ownership patterns revealed persistent gender and youth gaps as 12 companies were reported to be male-owned, seven jointly owned, two female-owned, and only one youth-owned.
Despite new contracts being issued, implementation troubles are deepening.
At the start of April, the council was managing 77 active contracts.
Just four were completed during the month, 39 remained on track, 34 had fallen behind schedule, and nine were classified as non-performing.
Major infrastructure works including sewer rehabilitation, residential stand servicing, and public building refurbishments are among the hardest hit.
Several have entered dispute resolution, with arbitration ongoing for sewer tunnel rehabilitation and multiple housing projects in high-density suburbs.
In one incident, the contractor for the Beithall refurbishment abandoned the site after price variation requests were rejected.
“Council is now engaging processes to take over the site and complete the works using retention funds,” the report indicated.
Funding constraints remain the central obstacle.
Several contractors for roads and equipment supply have gone unpaid for months after signing contracts.
Some residential servicing beneficiaries have been asked to make top-up contributions to keep works alive.
In another hitch, a supplier of Sadc-standard traffic signs cited pricing mismatches between tender documents and the e-GP system, calling execution “unviable.”
Council now plans to cancel and re-advertise the tender.
Despite the struggles, 48 new tenders were advertised in April.
Council noted the urgent need for improved funding, stronger contract management, and better project monitoring to stabilise service delivery and clear the growing backlog.