Boost for road rehabilitation, as BCC commissions maintenance equipment

Sikhumbuzo Moyo

THE City of Bulawayo will on Friday (today) to commission road maintenance equipment that was purchased using the 2025

Zimbabwe National Road Administration fund disbursements.

The equipment include four tractors, one compactor, one grader and two back haul loaders.

The four yellow machines (grader, compactor and back haul loaders) are said to have been procured at a total cost of US$1 million while each of the four tractors cost US$24 500.

The commissioning comes just 48 hours after Zinara chief executive officer Mr Nkosinathi Ncube told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development that ZINARA recorded a significant increase in revenue collections for 2025, raising ZiG12,5 billion (US$469,3 million), up from ZiG6,4 billion (US$366,95 million) collected in 2024.

Mr Ncube said from the collected figure, ZINARA disbursed a total of ZiG9,1 billion (US$341,8 million), representing 73 percent of revenue and 12 percent above the target of ZiG8,3 billion (US$305 million), to all road authorities and high-impact projects, including maintenance of the Mutare–Plumtree Road financed through the

Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

He said of the total disbursements ZiG1,173 billion went directly to road authorities, while ZiG68,95 million (equivalent to two million litres) was allocated in fuel to capacitate local authorities to carry out in-house road works.

Local authorities had drawn more than 1,76 million litres of fuel as of December 31 last year.

“This was meant to capacitate road authorities to undertake expedient in-house road works and avert challenges associated with procuring fuel in ZiG,” Mr Ncube said.

He said disbursements towards high-impact projects managed through Treasury and the Department of Roads amounted to ZiG5,6 billion (US$208,8 million) — 23 percent above target.

A further ZiG85,02 million was released for emergency road works and was fully utilised.

ZINARA is mandated to collect and disburse road user fees to various road authorities for maintenance, rehabilitation and construction projects across the country.

They are four road authorities in the country, namely Department of Roads, Rural Infrastructural Development Agency (RIDA), Urban and Rural District Councils.