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Chronicle Reporter
BULAWAYO roads should be completely re-graded as they are virtually impassable because of potholes, councillors have demanded.
Speaking during a full council meeting on Wednesday, councillors said potholes had resulted in an increased number of accidents and damage to vehicles.
They said commuter omnibus drivers were now shunning the damaged roads in the residential areas, shortchanging commuters and creating artificial transport shortages.
“The potholes in our roads are an eyesore and the council has proved that it has no capacity to repair them. It’s better we re-grade the roads because we cannot continue using such roads,” said Ward 24 councillor, Gideon Mangena.
“It has become difficult to use the roads, not only for motorists but for pedestrians as well. We would rather have gravel roads until the council can afford to construct proper roads.”
Clr Rueben Mategu of Ward 21 said: “Our roads are in a bad state and residents are being shortchanged because kombis are shunning the pot-hole infested roads.
“But I don’t think re-grading the roads is a good idea because it would be a sign that we have failed to deliver. The department of engineering should do something to improve the state of our roads.”
Clr Norman Hlabani from Ward 26 lambasted the entire council for failing to provide good service to the people of Bulawayo.
“We have professional people that were employed and councillors that were elected to render service to the people of Bulawayo. It’s unfortunate that they are actually doing a disservice to the people. A decision must be made to come up with a lasting solution to this problem,” said Clr Hlabani.
He urged the engineering department to compile a list of the critical roads, which would be presented to the finance department as an urgent matter.
Clr Monica Lubimbi of Ward 29 said councillors had become victims of insults from residents, who thought they were not concerned about the problem.
Bulawayo Mayor, Clr Martin Moyo, acknowledged that the roads needed urgent attention.
He urged the engineering and finance departments to come up with strategies to improve the roads, despite the local authority’s financial challenges.
“The issue of bad roads is a general concern and it needs urgent attention. However, the council does not have adequate funds to rehabilitate the roads. In the meantime, we can compact the potholes while the relevant departments look into the issue,” said Clr Moyo.
He said council would prioritise the rehabilitation of roads in its programmes.
Meanwhile, a public outcry has also erupted over the poor state of roads with motorists complaining that little or no action was being taken by authorities to address the problem. “It’s now difficult to drive because of potholes. The roads are so pathetic such that it has become risky to use them,” said a kombi driver who plies the Nketa-City route.
A private taxi driver, Mbonisi Moyo, told Chronicle that they were running losses as they were always taking cars for servicing.
“I’m employed as a driver, and the state of the roads is a cause for concern. The potholes are repeatedly damaging the car and this keeps us out of business,” said Moyo.
The motorists condemned the city council for failing to repair the roads and questioned the city council’s competence.
“I think the city council is useless as it is doing nothing to provide good service to the people. There are ditches everywhere, yet there are people employed and elected to solve such problems,” he said.
Online Reporter