Gvt requires $2bln to improve infrastructure

Zimbabwe, which has a huge infrastructure backlog, re­quires about $2 billion an­nually in the next decade to improve its infrastructure in water and sanitation, energy, information communications and technology and transport, it has emerged.

This emerged at the recent Construction Industry Federa­tion of Zimbabwe (CIFOZ) annual congress held in the re­sort town of Victoria Falls.

“According to official re­ports, government has spent about $2 billion in the last 10 years on infrastructure,” presi­dent of CIFOZ, Harold Chi­nogurei said.

“But, if we are to close the infrastructure gap in this country, this is the figure ($2 billion) we need to spend an­nually. I know the (construc­tion) industry has the ten­dency to blame government, but, government also has the right to blame the industry. So, the big question to us (as the construction industry) is what have we done about it?” he asked.

The Zimbabwe government has been spending more than 90 percent of revenue collect­ed annually towards wages and salaries of its bloated work­force, leaving very little for in­frastructure development.

This has resulted in increas­ingly dilapidated roads and rail network, which is still plagued by derailments and breakdowns, leaving heavy goods being transported by other more expensive means. The poor information com­munications and technology and energy infrastructure have resulted in investors shun­ning Zimbabwe. Electricity is Zimbabwe’s biggest weak point and the country, which is generating about 1 300 megawatts (MW) of electric­ity against a peak demand of about 1 800MW, is grappling with a huge supply deficit due to poor local electricity gen­eration capacity.

The country’s integrated power generation and distri­bution company, ZESA Hold­ing, has been forced to import electricity from regional sup­pliers, especially from Eskom of South Africa on a non-firm basis contract, meaning the South African power utility can only supply Zimbabwe when it has surplus electricity and Hydro Cahorra Bassa of Mozambique on firm basis to cover supply shortfalls.

Zimbabwe’s poor infrastruc­ture, experts said, is a major impediment to development. Urgent interventions are now critical to spur economic pro­gress and reduce poverty.

Many roads in Zimbabwe are beyond their lifespan. In fact, more than 80 percent of the country’s road network is in a dilapidated state, accord­ing to a recent report by the Ministry of Transport and In­frastructural Development on the state of the country’s road network. The sluggish invest­ment into infrastructure de­velopment has coincided with a sharp deceleration in eco­nomic growth in Zimbabwe in the past decade. – BT Online