THE Zimbabwe National Roads Authority (Zinara) has reportedly allocated only $10 million to local authorities in the country for road rehabilitation, yet it had generated $300m, latest Bulawayo City Council (BCC) minutes show.
BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
According to the latest BCC minutes, out of the $10m allocated to local authorities, BCC received $300 000.
Councillors felt that Zinara was doing a disservice to the local authorities.
“Councillor Silas Chigora (Ward 4) was also concerned as Zinara had allocated only $10 million to local authorities for road rehabilitation yet it generated $300 million. Out of the $10m allocation for local authorities, the City of Bulawayo received only $300 000,” the minutes read.
“He felt that the responsible authorities had a task to look into this matter in order to address this problem”.
Councillors said the state of the roads had further deteriorated due to heavy rains that the city experienced in the last rainy season.
A good number of the country’s roads were destroyed by excessive rains in the wake of Cyclone Dineo, which hit the country hard early this year and was immediately followed by another deluge — a product of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone.
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Bulawayo needs capital investment in the region of $69m per annum for the rehabilitation of road infrastructure that is currently in a general state of neglect.
Zimbabwe has an estimated total road network of 95 000km, most of which requires extensive rehabilitation.
The government already has a national road development and rehabilitation programme which requires $5 billion over the next 10 years. However, due to lack of funds, the programme is struggling to take off.
Zimbabwe has about 92 local authorities.
