Outcry over poor workmanship on Mutare road

SYDNEY SAIZE     IN MUTARE

Motorists in the City of Mutare have expressed concern over the poor workmanship on the Jelf Road that has begun to show signs of wearing away hardly a month after being in use.

The more than 2km stretch road links Mutare suburbs of Natville Park, Destiny and Hobhouse suburbs. “This road has only been in use for less than three weeks, but look at what it is now. You cannot say this road was finished this month,” a Mutare public transporter, Patrick Makande, told Business Times.

He added: “We have been demanding its completion for years as officials had promised it would be finished soon. This promise was made a decade ago.”

Another motorist, Caiphas Muzarewetu, blasted the poor workmanship by the contractor.

“…They could not hold on for too long as this issue of the tarred road had been talked much about for too long. Many had dismissed it as a political campaigning tool which has since outlived its life span,” said Muzarewetu.

Lewis Kashiri, another motorist told Business Times that there was need for infrastructural investments such as roads  to be long lasting.

“We cannot afford to have piece-meal works. We need to know that roads infrastructure is a long term investment and we need not to revisit an area that was done (a few weeks ago) for rehabilitation. We need to have competent contractors to undertake such massive jobs,” Kashiri said.

The Mutare City Council said the road development had since been taken over and was  now under the ambit of the government of Zimbabwe under its roads rehabilitation drive around the country.