SOME local contractors who were alleged to have been duped by an Indian firm, Jaguar Overseas have rejected a meagre down payment of US$ 50, 000 from the over US$ 1 million the foreign company owed since 2015.

The contractors also rubbished the proposal by Jaguar for the payments to be made at a rate of K7. 25 per dollar, the rate which was prevailing at the time the contractors were engaged.

They feel that such a proposal was an insult as they have been waiting for the foreign firm to honour its obligations for about five years.

One of the contractors, Bwalya Kutemwa of Kutengo Construction Limited reiterated that they could not accept such an offer as they would get peanuts from the deal.

“It’s an insult, we cannot accept that offer because the dollar is now at about K12, we will be making a very big loss,” Mr Kutemwa said.

Mr Kutemwa said that the foreign firm was insisting to make the payments at the dollar rate which was trending at the time the contracts were signed.

The local contractors were sub-contracted by Jaguar Overseas to build health posts in Central, Eastern and Copperbelt provinces in 2014 using their own money but to date have not been paid despite the completed works being certified in 2016.

After exhausting all available channels to have Jaguar own up to its obligations for almost five years, the foreign firm finally agreed to honour its obligations after inspecting the sites to ascertain works done.

The company is said to have back peddled on its promise to settle its dues with other local contractors.

The more than US$19 million project for the construction of the health posts and installation of essential equipment was signed between the Zambian government and Jaguar Overseas on July 3, 2013.