Disaster management agency sued over alleged K573,000 water supply debt

The Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) has been sued by Willmate Engineering Limited for allegedly failing to pay over K573,000 owed under a government contract for the supply of treated water to cholera-affected areas.

According to a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court, Willmate Engineering entered into a contract with the government of Zambia through DMMU on June 14, 2024.

The agreement, referenced as Lot 2 No. OVP/DMMU/S/03/02/2024, was for the transportation of treated water at a rate of K748 per 10,000 litres, value-added tax inclusive. The contract covered the period from August 14, 2024, to April 1, 2025.

Willmate Engineering is seeking judgment for the sum of K573,536.48, VAT inclusive, as payment for services rendered under the agreement. It is also seeking damages for breach of contract, interest,

The plaintiff submitted that it adhered to its contractual obligations by delivering treated water to the designated Lot 2 areas.

Upon confirmation of deliveries, the company generated and submitted invoices, which DMMU allegedly approved.

The invoices covered several delivery periods, including K47,124 for 630,000 litres delivered between August 14 and September 13, 2024; K41,140 for 100,000 litres delivered between September 2 and October 5, 2024; K108,460 for 490,000 litres supplied between November 2 and December 27, 2024; K103,972 for 1,390,000 litres delivered from January 23 to April 1, 2025; and K193,732 for 5,180,000 litres supplied between January 29 and March 28, 2025.

Despite the completion of deliveries and the approval of invoices, Willmate Engineering claims that DMMU failed to make the necessary payments.

The company said it made repeated attempts to remind DMMU of the unpaid invoices, but these efforts were met with silence or shifting payment deadlines that were never honored.

On March 18, 2025, the plaintiff issued a formal notification to DMMU of its intent to discontinue water supply services.

This was done under clause 2.6.2 of the contract, which allows the supplier to terminate the agreement with less than 30 days’ notice if the procuring entity fails to pay any monies due.

Despite this warning, DMMU reportedly remained unresponsive and continued to evade communication by not picking up calls or replying to emails.

Willmate Engineering submitted that it sent demand letters on April 23 and May 6, 2025, referencing DMMU’s earlier commitment to settle the debt within 14 days.

However, no payment was made, and the company contends that this failure constitutes a breach of the contract dated June 14, 2024.

The plaintiff argued that it had fulfilled its part of the agreement and that the defendant’s failure to pay constituted a violation of contractual obligations.

As a result, the company stated that it had suffered financial loss and inconvenience.

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