AUTHORITIES say they are now left with 53,2km to complete the rehabilitation of the 585km Harare-Beitbridge Highway.
This week, the Transport and Infrastructural Development ministry proudly announced the opening of an upgraded 3km four-lane section at Ngundu, pushing total completed work to 528,8km.
The ministry called this a “major milestone”, celebrating the fact that the project is now in the “home stretch”.
For a road that forms part of southern Africa’s busiest trade corridor, any progress is, indeed, welcome.
But Zimbabweans are justified in asking: why is the home stretch taking so long?
The highway rehabilitation began in 2019, after initial preparatory works in late 2018.
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Since then, the project has been delivered piecemeal, section by section, year after year.
According to current projections, the remaining portion will only be completed in early 2026.
That means it will have taken close to seven years to rehabilitate a road that is just 585km long.
The contrast with what the government achieved ahead of last year’s Sadc summit is impossible to ignore.
In preparation for the August 2024 Heads of State and Government meeting in Harare, the government completed 190km of roadwork in and around the capital — 95% of the targeted 200km — in a few months.
Roads around Mt Hampden, the new Parliament, the airport corridor, and key city arteries were transformed almost overnight.
When political prestige was at stake and when the eyes of the region were focused on Harare, road rehabilitation happened at a speed Zimbabweans had not seen in years.
Quality improved. Funding flowed.
Contractors worked round the clock.
Deadlines were not just met — they were beaten.
The question writes itself: If 190km of urban roads could be rehabilitated in four months, why has it taken more than six years to finish 585km on a national highway?
The Harare-Beitbridge Highway is not a ceremonial road.
It is a strategic trade corridor linking Zimbabwe to South Africa, Sadc’s largest economy.
It carries billions of dollars’ worth of goods, fuel and regional cargo every year.
It is the artery that feeds our economy — yet it has taken almost a decade to give it the attention it deserves.
This is not a capacity issue.
When the government is committed — truly committed — things move at an alarming speed.
The Sadc summit proved that beyond doubt.
The issue is political will and consistent funding.
Without these, even the most crucial national projects risk becoming endless construction sites or, worse, abandoned monuments due to broken promises.
Zimbabwe has for too long endured infrastructure projects that stretch on indefinitely, bleeding resources while exposing motorists to avoidable dangers.
The Harare-Beitbridge rehabilitation has already taken too long.
The nation cannot afford further delays, shifting deadlines or premature declarations of “milestones” that add little to the lived realities of drivers forced to navigate construction hazards.
This project must be completed — properly, urgently and without further fanfare.
Zimbabwe needs infrastructural development driven not by political events or prestige moments, but by national priorities and a long-term economic strategy.
The country needs seriousness, continuity and proper financing — otherwise, ambitious projects simply become white elephants in slow motion.
The message to the authorities is simple: Get it done and over with. Finish the highway. Finish it well. And finish it now.