TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO
The Zimbabwe National Roads Authority (ZINARA) has failed to distribute funds to rehabilitate 15 out of 18 roads earmarked for reclamation in Bulawayo, the city’s mayor, Solomon Mguni has said.
The city’s road network was in a deplorable state and the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has resorted to potholes patching with sand as a stop gap measure, Mguni told a recent full council meeting.
However, following the recent downpours recorded in the city in the past week, the sand has been washed away resulting in potholes being exposed
Mguni said the central government has not rehabilitated the roads in Bulawayo since 2021.
“As the adage goes, statistics don’t lie, 2021/2022 saw the erratic or non-disbursements of allocated ZINARA funds, some of which were diverted towards the government’s Emergency Roads Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP).
“This saw 18 of Bulawayo’s roads taken over by the government and various associated contractors. Of the 18 roads only three were completed namely Masiyephambili, Njube main road and Masotsha Ndlovu,” Mguni said.
He added: “Twelve of the said 18 roads are at 0%, these are Matopos road (3km), Leopold Takawira (7.8 km), Old Khami road (5.3 km), Khami road (5.2 km), Plumtree Road (2.8 km), Intemba road (10km), Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo (1.2 km), Lobengula Street (1.1km), Cecil Avenue (6km), Victoria Falls Road (9km) and Gwanda Road (9km).”
Mguni said Fife Street (2.7km) was 50% complete while Nketa Drive (2,1km) and Mpopoma were also 50% complete.
He said the government should capacitate local authorities.
“Instead of being an active player, government must capitalize on local authorities to handle their roads maintenance units in the spirit of devolution of power, “he said.
Last year, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Felix Mhona, toured Bulawayo’s deplorable road network.
He indicated that the city’s roads should be rehabilitated.
Meanwhile, on Friday last week the Bulawayo City Council began rehabilitating some of the roads using internal funds.
Bulawayo town clerk Christopher Dube said the rehabilitation works will comprise of pothole patching.
“The motoring public is hereby notified of the proposed Luveve road improvement works between Waverly Street and Intemba drive. The works will comprise of pothole patching, localised pavement reconstruction, overlays, reinstating of carriageway markings, drainage and other general maintenance works.
“Once completed, these works will prolong the life of the carriageway, improve road safety and ride quality, “Dube said.
Major roads leading to the city centre such as Luveve, Khami, Old Khami and Matopos roads have potholes making it difficult for motorists to navigate
In September last year, ZINARA disbursed about ZWL$12bn to road authorities across the country for road maintenance and rehabilitation under the ERRP.
