Zimbabwean
businessman
Wicknell
Chivayo
and
advocate
Fadzayi
Mahere
have
renewed
a
public
dispute
over
the
long-stalled
Gwanda
Solar
Project
after
Mahere
publicly
questioned
whether
Chivayo’s
company
owes
the
State
millions
and
whether
recent
high-value
ambulance
donations
might
be
partial
compensation
for
that
sum.
The
exchange
has
re-opened
a
wider
conversation
about
procurement,
project
delivery
and
public
accountability
in
Zimbabwe’s
energy
sector.
Mahere’s
Questions
Advocate
Fadzayi
Mahere
pressed
Wicknell
Chivayo
to
clarify
whether
he
still
owes
the
State
US$6.5
million
for
the
Gwanda
Solar
Project,
why
the
project
remains
incomplete,
and
if
his
donation
of
20
Land
Cruiser
ambulances,
which
she
estimated
at
US$60,000
each,
should
be
seen
as
philanthropy
or
a
partial
set-off
against
that
sum.
She
further
argued
that,
if
the
figures
were
correct,
taxpayers
would
effectively
still
be
owed
the
equivalent
of
88
more
ambulances,
calling
into
question
Chivayo’s
claims
of
generosity.
Chivayo’s
Response
Chivayo
replied
in
a
long
post
that
described
Mahere’s
line
of
questioning
as
“ill-thought”
and
accused
critics
of
ignorance,
pointing
to
a
Supreme
Court
judgment
and
insisting
Intratrek,
his
company,
does
not
owe
ZESA
or
the
State.
He
wrote
in
part:
“The
tired
and
IGNORANT
reference
to
the
Gwanda
Solar
Project
is
quite
laughable.
Even
a
first-year
law
student
would
know
that
the
SUPREME
COURT
of
Zimbabwe
conclusively
RULED
that
Intratrek
Zimbabwe
(Pvt)
Ltd
does
NOT
owe
ZESA
or
the
State
a
single
cent
!!!
Please
refer
to
judgement
SC127/23…”
On
the
ambulances
he
said:
“These
are
2025
STATE-OF-THE-ART,
high-end
Toyota
Land
Cruiser
units,
FULLY
EQUIPPED
with
ICU
technology,
ventilators,
oxygen
systems
and
defibrillators.
They
are
essentially
MOBILE
CLINICS
which
should
have
actually
costed
more
than
US$90,000
per
unit…”
He
also
stressed
that
his
philanthropy
was
separate
from
contractual
matters
and
closed
by
praising
the
government’s
Vision
2030.
Project
History
—
How
We
Got
Here
The
Gwanda
solar
scheme
was
contracted
as
a
100
MW
project
during
the
mid-2010s
with
an
original
contract
value
in
the
region
of
US$170–183
million,
awarded
to
Intratrek
Zimbabwe
with
Chinese
technical
partner
CHINT
as
part
of
a
wider
push
to
add
renewable
capacity.
Implementation
was
expected
in
phases
with
an
initial
10
MW
first
phase
discussed
in
government
statements.
Over
the
years
the
project
repeatedly
missed
deadlines
amid
disputes
over
financing,
guarantees
and
fulfillment
of
contractual “conditions
precedent.”
In
2018–2020
the
matter
moved
through
the
courts
and
government
review
processes
after
ZPC
(the
Zimbabwe
Power
Company)
raised
concerns
about
progress
and
payments.
Some
court
rulings
and
later
appeals
found
the
procurement
contract
remained
valid
and
binding
and
ordered
related
remedies;
ultimately
the
Supreme
Court’s
decisions
in
late
2023
shaped
the
legal
position
between
Intratrek
and
the
State.
The
State
Of
The
Project
And
Site
A
Decade
Later
The
Gwanda
Solar
Project
remains
stalled
more
than
a
decade
after
its
inception.
Court
battles
between
Intratrek
and
the
Zimbabwe
Power
Company
(ZPC)
culminated
in
a
Supreme
Court
ruling
(SC127/23)
affirming
the
contract’s
validity,
but
legal
outcomes
have
not
translated
into
visible
progress
on
the
ground.
Site
inspections
by
parliamentarians,
journalists
and
civil-society
groups
found
overgrown
land,
limited
clearing,
and
negligible
infrastructure,
reinforcing
perceptions
of
delay.
Past
criminal
probes
and
parliamentary
scrutiny
focused
on
payments
made
to
Intratrek,
yet
prosecutions
failed
to
secure
convictions,
while
recovery
claims
were
contested
in
court.
Negotiations
to
revive
the
project
have
been
reported
but
little
physical
work
has
materialised.
Public
Opinion
Remains
Divided:
some
commend
Chivayo’s
philanthropy,
while
others
see
it
as
reputation
management
amid
unresolved
accountability
questions.
For
many
Zimbabweans,
Gwanda
has
become
symbolic
of
state
contracts
plagued
by
delays,
litigation,
and
limited
returns,
raising
demands
for
transparency
in
energy
infrastructure
deals.