A US$1.6 million telemedicine initiative that promised to revolutionize healthcare access for Zimbabwe’s rural population hangs in limbo as implementing partners wage a bitter legal battle over contract terms and payment distribution. The project, scheduled to launch next Friday, now faces indefinite delay.

Brightspace Innovation Technology Solutions (BITS), a South African-linked firm, allegedly attempted to circumvent its Zimbabwean partner, Africawide Zimbabwe (AZ), which secured the original tender in June 2023.

Documents show BITS tried to substitute AZ with another entity, Brightspace Innovative Solutions, without proper authorization after already receiving a US$500,000 advance payment.

“This maneuver undermines the integrity of the entire procurement process,” said a source close to the project who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the dispute.

Potraz director-general Gift Machengete issued multiple warnings between July 2024 and March 2025, emphasizing that AZ remained the only legally recognized contractor. BITS’ owner has continued pressing for control and additional payments, claiming larger entitlements as the software rights holder.

The case has now moved to the courts, with legal representatives from Dube, Manikai & Hwacha (representing BITS), Jacob Mutevedzi (for AZ), and Potraz locked in contentious proceedings. A protective order has been filed under case number HCH885/25.

Initially championed by former ICT Minister Jenfan Muswere and now under the Ministry of Information’s oversight, the project was funded through Potraz’s Universal Services Fund after the tender was issued in February 2022.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa was originally scheduled to unveil the project during ZANU PF’s December 2024 conference before the launch was moved to Independence Day celebrations in Gokwe.

Healthcare advocates warn that the protracted legal battle jeopardizes a vital service for thousands in remote areas. Rural clinics that were set to receive telemedicine equipment now face continued isolation from specialist medical support.

“While these companies fight over money, people in rural Zimbabwe continue to suffer without access to proper healthcare,” said a healthcare worker in Gokwe who was awaiting the project’s implementation.

As court proceedings continue, what was intended as a flagship national healthcare innovation remains in jeopardy, with rural communities bearing the ultimate cost of the delays.