The Sunday Mail
Tanyaradzwa Kutaura
There was heated debate during a Harare City Council full meeting this week over the slow pace in which roads in the capital city are being rehabilitated.
The local authority received funds from Government to spruce up the roads.
Acting Town Clerk Mr Hosiah Chisango was at pains to answer why some roads in the capital are still impassable after the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara)
had availed the money that had been requested by Harare.
In January, council spearheaded a program that aimed at repairing roads in the Central Business District as well as residential areas, which had become impassable due to potholes.
According to the Environmental Management Committee minutes, council initially received about $13 million from Zinara for the repair of roads and storm drains in the city.
“In addition, a request for $4 million was submitted to Zinara to fund VVIP routes.
“The city had budgeted $13 million for road maintenance in 2018,” read part of the minutes.
Councillors said the authority had enough money to meet its budget in rehabilitating roads, but questioned why progress was stalling.
Harare City Council Environment Management Committee chairperson, Clr Herbert Gomba said, “All road works are not going according to our plan. They (some councillors) are talking of Mabvuku (road works not moving at the expected pace), but it’s not about isolating Mabvuku. If you go to Highfield, it’s not going on well, if you go to other areas it is also not going well.
Mr Chisango said the program had exceeded their budget and they would engage Zinara to get more funding to complete the exercise.
“The works that we had planned have gone beyond what Zinara had pledged to pay at the beginning, so there are negotiations going on with Zinara so that we get additional resources to look at all the roads.
“We are going to have a meeting to ratify some of our contracts that had expired.
“But as far as the resources, we need more money from Zinara to continue the works”, he said.
Most of the roads in the capital city, like many other areas countrywide, have been undergoing major face-lifts after years of neglect.
