ZCDC In ZITF Accommodation Saga

By Shingirai Vambe

Bulawayo- The Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) has gone into full throttle demanding refund for accommodation they booked, approved, paid deposit and checked-in, Post On Sunday reports.

The matter which has spilled into the courts has seen the diamond company demanding refund under unclear circumstances.

It is alleged to be the second incident involving the company and accommodation facility providers in Bulawayo.

According to Court papers that this publication has in possession, the agent, working for Zim Women Expo, who had to accept the late booking of accommodation from the company had her property attached by the Sheriff, when she failed to respond to the summons from the Diamond Co. legal team.

It is stated in the documents that the company booked accommodation for its 9 members, who attended the Trade Fair in April 2022, from April 25-29 2022.

The Agent communicating with ZCDC Employee, Rutendo Mangatu, secured accommodation Airbnb houses, after viewing of the said facility, a deposit was paid for a quotation of USD $13 455 and it was reserved for the 9.

according to the bank statement provided, part of the money was taxed and the other part was released in Zim dollars.

Upon arriving in Bulawayo for their check-in, some officers declined to occupy the booked accommodation without any just cause. this was despite the fact that the facility was approved by Rutendo.

In an effort to solve the rising challenge, another arrangement was reached with the guests, wherein the agent, made another alternative to secure accommodation for the 9 and an agreement was reached that the invoice was to be revised to cater for the costs involved.

Later in the evening, around 10:30pm, it is alleged that the ZCDC team made a sudden change and cancelled everything and requested a refund on the pretext that they were going back to Harare and hence no longer needed any accommodation.

This all happened when most facilities are fully booked and other clients were declined since a deposit had already been paid.

The matter has been escalated to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and the ZITF as the agent is still trying to come to terms and put resources together to respond to court papers and find other means to survive as most of her belongings have been taken by the Sheriff.

Contacted for comment, ZCDC spokesperson, Sugar Chagonda said he was not aware of the issue and did not attend the 2022 ZITF and was going to contact the company legal department. he referred all the questions to Rutendo who declined to comment and referred us back to Mr Chagonda, citing company policy.

Leading to the attachment of property, summons were served at the Agent’s family house and not the ZIM Women EXPO offices and only got to know about the issue when the Sherriff  had arrived to collect.

Unconfirmed reports claim in 2021 less or similar case happened between the Diamond company and another facility, more details to follow.