Investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono has publicly called out the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services over conflicting government statements regarding the status of the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls Road construction project, raising fresh concerns over transparency and possible violations of public procurement laws.
In an open letter addressed to Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana, Chin’ono questioned a series of contradictory statements issued by various arms of government, most notably the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development, about the awarding and commencement of work on the long-awaited road rehabilitation project.
On 29 April 2025, a government statement, published by The Herald newspaper and shared on the Ministry of Transport’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, claimed that eight road construction companies were already on site working on the highway.
Chin’ono challenged the accuracy of that report, pointing out that the public procurement and tender process for that specific project had only closed the day before.
Following public scrutiny, the Ministry of Transport, through its Permanent Secretary Joy Pedzisayi Makumbe, issued a clarification, attributing the earlier statement to a “mistake” by the ministry’s social media team.
Makumbe conceded that no construction companies were yet on site, essentially retracting the initial claim.
However, Chin’ono highlighted further contradictions, citing a statement made in Parliament on March 6 by Deputy Minister of Transport Joshua Kurt Sacco, in which he announced that a contract had been awarded to Bitumen World under a public–private partnership.
The remarks by Sacco appeared to directly contradict Makumbe’s recent assertion that no contract had yet been awarded.
Adding to the confusion, Mangwana himself appeared on the DJ Ollah 7 podcast in Bulawayo last week, repeating the claim that the tender process had concluded and that some companies were already working on the road.
His comments mirrored the ministry’s now-retracted position and the deputy minister’s remarks. Wrote Chin’ono:
So did Deputy Minister Sacco lie to Parliament, Nick? Did The Herald newspaper lie to its readers? Did you lie in the podcast interview too? Did the Transport Ministry social media team also lie?
Or is the Permanent Secretary for Transport now lying to cover up the corrupt act of awarding a contract without a tender process in violation of the Public Procurement Act?
What is the true situation Nick? You are the guardian of information for this government, its Chief propagandist, can you inform us of the correct position please?
We now have three statements, not only from the same government but from the same ministry, issued on different occasions, and the fourth statement from yourself too. Why is there a cover-up, Nick?
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