Push for Feruka road link
SYDNEY SAIZE IN MUTARE
Mutasa South legislator, Misheck Mugadza, has appealed to government to implement a proposal to have haulage trucks to start using the alternative route into the city of Mutare to curb road traffic accidents along the Christmas Pass curves.
Mugadza in his letter to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Felix Mhona, which was copied to the Minister of State for Manicaland Province, Devolution and Development, Nokuthula Matsikenyire, said the Feruka road link was approved many years ago.
“I have noted with concern as the Member of Parliament for Mutasa South Constituency, the frequency of road accidents along the Christmas Pass road which has resulted in the loss of human life and property.
“I write to urge you to implement the proposal that was made long ago that haulage trucks use the Feruka road link into town,” part of Mugadza letter reads.
His call comes in the wake of numerous road accidents along the treacherous Christmas Pass curves which most truck drivers shudder to dare pass through.
One trucker, Brighton Chauke from Zambia told Business Times that while the Christmas Pass is not daring with regards to the curves, the issue is on the state of the road, its narrowness that makes it difficult to manoeuvre with a heavy load.
“Obviously I have travelled far and wide, and have been to more treacherous and more challenging terrains than the Christmas Pass, but the difference with it, is that the road is not wide enough for big trucks and with the load we would be hauling,” Chauke said.
He said it would be prudent for the authorities to consider an alternative route for the truckers as suggested by Mugadza which the government approved but yet to be implemented in decades.
As it stands, if the central government delays in getting on the ground to putting action on its plans for the Feruka Link Road, the nation will continue to record deaths, injuries, and loss of property among others, experts say.
Analysts said Zimbabwe loses millions of dollars in lost business owing to the carnages.
The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, states that at least 2 000 people are killed on the road annually, translating to about five people daily.
