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Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs Mandi Chimene took matters into her hands and led Mutare residents on a pothole-filling campaign in the city this week.Minister Chimene said there was no tarmac material and would as a result improvise with cement and quarry dust to fill up the potholes dotted around the city, sarcastically being referred to as ‘dish-holes’.
During the launch, which was held along Second Street opposite Victory House in the Central Business District, the minister, together with stakeholders from church groups, civil society, local authority, youth groups and the private sector spiritedly patched the deep potholes that had dented the road which was now being shunned by most motorists.
After the business of the day Minister Chimene introduced the $1 sticker for motorists.
She said the funds raised from the stickers would be used to buy materials for the programme.
The minister urged motorists in Mutare to support the initiative as they stood to benefit from the end product which was rehabilitation of roads.
The tickets are being sold by youth officers who will be moving around town.
She lamented the fact that Mutare was once the most beautiful city in the country but was slowly losing its grandeur owing to the bad state of the roads. She added that the bad state of the roads was now contributing to the regularity of traffic accidents in the city.
“Mutare is now called Makombayo instead of Makomoyo. This shows that the town has lost its splendour. Mutare is the eastern gateway city close to the Mozambican border, so what impression are we giving the visitors who come by road when they pass through our town?
“We have also lost many of our beloved ones through accidents caused by these potholes,” she said.
Minister Chimene, however, warned local authorities to focus on road rehabilitation programmes.
“We have launched this programme because we have realised that the city council has failed dismally to neither renovate nor maintain our roads.
“So it is now up to us to decide their fate. However, this is also a warning shot for you to act or get out,” she said.
Speaking on the sidelines, Mutare City Council Engineer Donaldson Nyatoti bemoaned the paltry funds from the Zimbabwe National Road Administration allocated towards city road rehabilitation programmes.
He said last year the budget for the city’s road rehabilitation programmes was $2,6 million, but only $80 000 per quarter was allocated to them by Zinara.
“Had we got the allocated $80 000 it would have been better, but we got nothing last year for all the four quarters. We really want to rehabilitate roads but we are not getting money from Zinara and council is insolvent to raise additional funds for road rehabilitation programmes,” said Eng Nyatoti.
The launch was also attended by Mutare Mayor Tatenda Nhamarare. He said it was a good pro-active initiative by Minister Chimene and urged residents of Mutare to support the programme.
Online Reporter