GS1247 VPA 146 Manicaland Safe Water

Audit Analysis

This Gold Standard safe-water VPA in Zimbabwe has a VVB-verified additionality assessment and no reported reversals, but is undermined by ten cross-document contradictions (leakage, fNRB, crediting period, ERR), five open Forward Action Requests, an ongoing staff investigation, and temporary parameter caps imposed during a grievance review. The project sits in a transitional state with revalidation delayed by the Zimbabwean government's carbon framework, creating meaningful uncertainty around the validity of current credit claims.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Ten contradictions across documents, including leakage deduction (0% in verification report vs 5% in PDD vs 'quantified' in monitoring report), fNRB (0.97 vs 0.85), and crediting period (2018–2023 vs 2025–2030)
• ⚠Five Forward Action Requests (FAR 01–05) remain open, covering SDG indicators, fNRB reporting, and monitoring justification
• ⚠Ongoing investigation into two staff members within the Zimbabwean partner organisation, noted in the verification report
• ⚠Temporary caps on borehole yield, project yield, usage rate, and user numbers imposed due to an active Gold Standard grievance review
• ⚠Crediting period gap: the verification report (Oct 2023) shows the period ending June 2023, while the validation report (Aug 2025) shows a new period starting May 2025; the 2024 monitoring period falls in the gap

Credit Vintages