‘Tobacco firms must upgrade roads’

By The NewsDay | Mar. 2, 2021 | 1 Min read

BY NHAU MANGIRAZI CORPORATES that have contracted Hurungwe farmers to produce tobacco have been urged to plough back to the communities through various projects like roads rehabilitation. While the road network throughout the country is in a bad state, Hurungwe district is one of the worst affected with most roads littered with potholes following incessant […]

BY NHAU MANGIRAZI

CORPORATES that have contracted Hurungwe farmers to produce tobacco have been urged to plough back to the communities through various projects like roads rehabilitation.

While the road network throughout the country is in a bad state, Hurungwe district is one of the worst affected with most roads littered with potholes following incessant rains.

Speaking during the handover ceremony of personal protective equipment (PPE) donated by Ethical Leaf Tobacco (ELT) to Tengwe Clinic last Thursday, Hurungwe East MP Ngoni Masenda urged companies to assist in rehabilitating the road infrastructure in the district.

“The gesture by ELT to donate PPE to our health facility will go a long way in fostering community development in the health sector for our communal farmers.

“However, while it is a noble idea to help communities with PPE, my personal appeal is to have our roads rehabilitated as they are in a bad state. Many tobacco companies are stationed here in Hurungwe, but they are not considering rehabilitating roads, yet they will be coming to buy our products soon,’’

Hurungwe Rural District Council chairperson Badwell Chasara said the poor state of the roads hampered development.

“We can’t talk of development when roads are impassable. This is a challenge for tobacco companies to take a leading role in roads rehabilitation,’’ Chasara said. ELT regional manager Gift Chaitezvi said the donation was meant to help in the fight against COVID-19 in Hurungwe.