By Staff Reporter
Chivi – The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture has launched a blistering attack on Prevail International, a company owned by presidential advisor to the UAE, Paul Tempter Tungwarara, accusing it of failing to deliver on a flagship rural development scheme despite receiving huge sums of public money.
Prevail International was contracted under the Presidential Rural Development Programme to drill 10,000 boreholes and establish Village Business Units (VBUs) across the country. The scheme, launched by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2021, was expected to benefit 1.8 million households and help achieve Vision 2030 targets.
But MPs say most of the projects remain idle, leaving rural communities stranded without the promised water and development opportunities.
During verification visits in Chivi District, Masvingo Province last week, the Committee accused the company of “window dressing” and gross underperformance.
Rushinga MP Tendai Nyabani told the committee:
“In Rushinga Constituency we have the same problem with Prevail International — all the sites are not working, not even a single drop of water since they drilled over a year ago. Government has put a lot of money in non-functional VBUs and the company is not cooperating.”
Marambapfungwe legislator Tichaona Karumazondo echoed the frustration, saying villagers had been waiting for over a year despite repeated promises.
Gokwe District MP Stephen Ngwenya went further, accusing the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) of negligence.
“Is ZINWA monitoring these projects, or are they just sitting in their offices while taxpayers’ money is being wasted?” he asked.
Documents seen by this publication reveal that in Rushinga District, only three out of 42 VBUs are operational.
Local councillors in Chivi also complained that villagers have been forced to pay for water connections and other amenities on projects supposedly fully funded by government.
Questions are now being raised over the tender process, amid allegations of inflated costs. Sources within ZINWA allege that Prevail International charged government over US\$16,000 per borehole compared to around US\$6,000 from other service providers.
Despite the concerns, the company expanded in 2023 and 2024, acquiring new trucks and solar panels to boost its operations.
However, MPs have warned that unless urgent corrective action is taken, the multimillion-dollar programme risks becoming another costly failure.
