adminVictor Maphosa in Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe
VILLAGERS in Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe district have appealed to the Government to expedite the upgrading of the Murehwa-Madicheche road.
The road links Mashonaland East Province, through UMP, and Mashonaland Central province.
Various companies have been contracted to upgrade the road from Mutawatawa, but the works have been moving at a slow pace, sparking outrage from villagers who are now seeking Government intervention.
After some contractors pulled out of the job, with others leaving a trail of a half done and substandard work, the Government finally awarded a tender to Fossil Contracting, a reputable road construction company, to upgrade the Murehwa-Madicheche road.
During the Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development tour of the road recently, villagers said they look forward to speedy upgrade of the road, which they say will in turn enhance development in Maramba Pfungwe.
“We have seen a lot of contractors working on this road, but nothing came of it and as you can see, our road is still bad.
“We are not happy with the way these contractors are working and we appeal to the Government and our President to look closely into this issue. We also want good roads in this area.
“We want to thank you our legislators for visiting this area to see for yourselves the state of this road. We are hopeful that you will take our concerns to the highest office,” a villager from UMP who chose to remain anonymous said.
Another villager, who also chose not to be named, weighed in saying as long as roads in their district are not upgraded, no development will come their way.
“We do not even have big shops in Maramba Pfungwe because investors are scared of this road.
“We appeal to Government to ensure that there is close monitoring of contractors that are given the job to upgrade this road. We want this road to be usable.”
The chairperson of the committee, Oscar Gorerino, said they are concerned about the state of the road and will work closely with responsible authorities to ensure the upgrade is done.
The committee also toured Nyahasa bridge along the same road, which is under construction.
“It seems projects in rural areas are not getting enough attention and as you can see here we are not sure if it is the issue of payment or it’s the issue of doing a sub-standard job which made contractors to leave without completing their task.
“As you can see the job here (at Nyahasa bridge) was not done to perfection and it is sub-standard.
“The people of Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe are not asking for much but the upgrade of their road only.
“We now expect to see some changes from the contractor here and from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development to ensure that this road is upgraded because they are the owners of this road “.
Maramba Pfungwe MP Cde Tichawona Karumazondo thanked the committee for the visit and urged the contractor to expedite the upgrade of the road for the benefit of the community in Maramba Pfungwe.
Cde Karumazondo (ZANU-PF), who is also a member of the committee, said the completion of the road upgrade was long overdue and villagers were now looking forward to a serious and committed contractor .
He urged responsible authorities to heed the call by villagers to upgrade the road which he said is key to economic development of UMP district .
“This road is very busy as you can see and we have heard what the community is asking for.
“This road was last rehabilitated in the 1990s, but we want to thank the Second Republic for availing funds and an opportunity for the upgrade of this road.
“Chairman, I’m not pleased with the pace at which the upgrade of this road has been going but I am happy that the community has voiced their concerns about this road,” said Cde Karumazondo.
Online Reporter