FORMER MDC legislator for Silobela Anadi Sululu has urged the government to repair the Silobela-Kwekwe Road which has become a challenge for the motoring public.
Sululu recently wrote to Transport and Infrastructural Development minister Felix Mhona demanding the reconstruction of strategic infrastructure in the area and the road, adding that locals are finding it difficult to transport ill people to health institutions.
The letter was copied to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Speaker of the National Assembly, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion minister Mthuli Ncube, Auditor-General, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission chairperson and current MP Jona Nyevera.
“I write to you today with a heavy heart, compelled by distressing images currently circulating of the impassable roads in Silobela following the recent heavy rains.
“Most heartbreaking was a photograph shared by a frontline nurse on WhatsApp, showing an ambulance struggling to transport patients from Silobela Hospital to Kwekwe Hospital.
“Minister, my heart bled as I looked at those images and remembered our meeting in your office in mid-January 2025. During that discussion, sitting inside your beautiful office, you gave me your word.
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“You stated clearly that your ministry had secured the necessary funding to complete the tarring of the Silobela Road and that work would be finished by the end of 2025”.
Sululu said he trusted Mhona and carried that hope back to the community, adding that it was disappointing that the reality on the ground confirmed that his promise remained unfulfilled.
“You have not only disappointed me, but you have deeply disappointed the people of Silobela who continue to suffer. Beyond Silobela, it is evident that our national road network is in a state of collapse,” he said.
“From Matabeleland to Manicaland, our citizens are cut off from markets, clinics and schools. Therefore, I formally request that your ministry provides a comprehensive, public update on government plans for all other roads currently in a deplorable state across provinces.”
Sululu called for full disclosure of the provincial funding allocations — how much money has been allocated for road rehabilitation in each province for the 2025 fiscal year.
“Accountability for ‘secured funding’: If funding was ‘secured’ for Silobela in 2025, where were those specific funds redirected and why has the work not been executed and accomplished?”
Sululu said the Silobela-Kwekwe Road was a primary artery on the national map, adding that it was tragic that the area was still relying on the narrow strips built by the Ian Smith administration.
“Furthermore, the lack of small, resilient bridges means that during every rainy season, our streams become walls. Vehicles cannot pass, and our children are forced to miss school, jeopardising their education and their future,” he said.
“I now formally call upon you, in your capacity as minister, to travel to Silobela and address the locals directly regarding the government’s actual plans.
“I further extend an invitation to President Mnangagwa, to join you on this journey. I would urge you both to travel by road from Kwekwe to Silobela in a standard vehicle not a 4x4 off-roader so that you may feel, physically, what the people of Silobela endure every single day.”
Sululu told Southern Eye yesterday that Mhona has not responded to his petition.