Chronicle Editor
Harare Bureau
THE African Development Bank (AfDB) has released US$24 million for the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged in March last year by Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani and Chipinge in Manicaland Province.
The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is the project manager for the work being done. The funding by AfDB complements Government efforts and is centred on building new bridges, remaking roads and repairing and upgrading irrigation infrastructure.
As the scheme involves permanent improvement rather than termporary repairs, there has been a lot of planning so the actual civil engineering works are only starting now.
Chimanimani and Chipinge districts are rich in timber, tea, coffee and fruit, including pineapples, avocados and macadamia nuts. So part of the funds will support revival of irrigation schemes in the two districts.
On Wednesday the AfDB executive directors, among them Dr Judith Kateera and Mr Mbuyamu Matungulu, toured several areas in Chimanimani where the bank is funding four major bridges.
The tour was for the board members to appreciate the scope of works. They toured Nyahodi Bridge Number 3 to 5 and Kopa where the South African National Defence Forces and the Zimbabwe National Army constructed two Bailey bridges last year.
At Kopa the AfDB intends to construct two major bridges – one across Nyahode River and the other across Rusitu River linking Chimanimani East to Chipinge.
It is UNOPS’s view that the two Bailey Bridges are temporary. The project has four phases with construction of the bridges expected to start next year.
In an interview during the tour, UNOPS country manager Mr Djibrilla Mazin said funding was approved in September last year. Funds were released in December of the same year. Some quarters feel UNOPS is moving too slowly in implementing the project.
UNOPS country manager Mr Djibrilla Mazin said there were a lot of pre-construction activities. UNOPS has to mobilise, recruit consulting firms, come up with detailed designs of the bridges, and recruit contractors.
“UNOPS is an agency that is mandated by the UN General Assembly for infrastructure, project management and procurement. We have been called here to support Government as well as the African Development Bank in response to the Cyclone Idai and the project is more than US$24 million that was dedicated and granted to Zimbabwe by the AfDB,” said Mr Mazin.
He said the project aimed to improve agricultural productivity by ensuring construction of resilient infrastructure for easy movement of produce and inputs.
Mr Mazin explained why physical works have not started.
“We started with our inception phase. You must understand that this is not a humanitarian project. This is an infrastructural project and it has a lead time that is different from a humanitarian project. It’s not patching and rebuilding quickly. It is taking stock of the events ensuring that we understand the impact and the reasons why it happened and we build back better, meaning that we re-design with resilient criteria that will allow the infrastructure to last,” he said.
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