A legislator has claimed that the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway is neglected "because Ministers do not use these roads but they fly" and do not have an appreciation of the state of the road.
Contributing to the President's State of the Nation Address in the National Assembly on 16 November, legislator L. Sibanda said the state of roads in Matabeleland are in a deplorable state.
"I would start by the road infrastructure; the Bulawayo to Nkayi Road is in a sorry state. The road is inaccessible and it is in disrepair. Of course, the Ministry of Transport has tried because in the past, it has deployed graders and other equipment for road rehabilitation but the road is still not good enough.
"I believe that it is important for the road to be tarred even if it is 5km or 10km, it would be better. Let me also look at the Bulawayo-Tsholotsho Road which is also in a bad state and has culminated in business people shunning the road" said Sibanda.
In July this year, media reports indicated that Zimre Capital has secured US$3 billion funding for a bankable feasibility study for the proposed rehabilitation of the Beitbridge- Bulawayo, and Bulawayo- Victoria Falls highways.
The 426-kilometer stretch has been experiencing severe damages especially in Hwange and Umguza district with motorists forced to navigate around massive potholes.
In February this year, Government declared the country's road network a State of Disaster and has since embarked on a national road reconstruction blitz that has seen many of the roads being upgraded or rehabilitated.
The government set aside US$400 million to fund the rehabilitation through the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (EPPR).
Added Sibanda "The implementation of the devolution of power would be quite useful.
"For instance, Bulawayo to Victoria Falls Road is in a bad state because Ministers do not use these roads but they fly."
The legislator partly blamed haulage trucks for contributing to the poor state of the network.
"There is Hwange Colliery which supplies the nation with coal and thermal power, a lot of haulage trucks ply this road and despite the damage that is done by these haulage trucks, there is no money that they leave for the communities. The transport companies are not contributing any toll fees towards the rehabilitation of the Bulawayo/Victoria Falls Road. Hwange is responsible for supplying coal and the proceeds from the sales are found to be developing and rehabilitating roads".
The rehabilitation of the highways is expected to lay a strong foundation for economic development. RDF
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