Chronicle Editor
Thupeyo Muleya, [email protected]
BEITBRIDGE Municipality has begun mobilising resources to repair major roads across the border town, which were severely damaged by recent rains.
Town secretary Mr Loud Ramakgapola confirmed that the municipality had received ZWG1,3 million from the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) to fund the road rehabilitation efforts.
The rains have left many of Beitbridge’s surfaced roads riddled with potholes. Some roads, especially those linking the town’s central business district to the bus terminus, Tshitaudze suburbs, Khwalu 1 and 2, Dulivhadzimu, Tshidixwa, Vhembe View, Limpopo View, and other new suburbs, have been particularly affected.
“We recently received ZWG1,3 million from Zinara, which we are going to use to rehabilitate and restore our road networks. At the moment, we are mobilising the necessary materials for this project. Civil works will begin next week,” said Mr Ramakgapola.
The municipality plans to re-gravel and fill potholes in some areas while patching surfaced roads in others.
Mr Ramakgapola said the main goal of the road rehabilitation project is to create more accessible roads in the suburbs and to alleviate congestion on major roads leading to Bulawayo and Harare.
“This project is part of our broader development strategy. We intend to carry out more capital projects once our proposed 2025 budget is approved,” he said.
The municipality has proposed an 18 percent increase in its 2025 budget, with the majority of the US$10 million earmarked for the ongoing transformation of Beitbridge into a modern city.
The 2025 budget aims to facilitate economic growth and development, contributing to the national economic transformation outlined in the National Development Strategy 1, which aims to move Zimbabwe towards a prosperous and empowered upper-middle-income society by 2030.
Under the same budget, tariffs pegged in United States dollars will remain unchanged. The local authority’s 2024 budget was reviewed from US$13,5 million to US$15,9 million this year.
Finance Committee chairperson and deputy mayor Councillor John Manatsa said the budget was developed after consulting with ratepayers and other relevant stakeholders.
He acknowledged that service delivery had been subdued due to financial constraints but highlighted that the 2025 budget would serve as a catalyst for economic growth and national transformation.
Online Reporter