Chronicle Editor
Blessings Chidakwa, Harare Bureau
THE country continues to have accelerated development and beautification of the upgraded roadworks following the successful hosting of the 44th SADC summit with road rehabilitation ongoing on several roads including dualisation of Harare Drive and the Harare-Bindura Highway.
A visit to the roadworks yesterday showed that remarkable progress is being made along the roads while beautification of Harare is ongoing with installation of streets lights underway.
Sprucing up of villas at the new city in Mount Hampden is also ongoing while Government has also started servicing tracts of land where the country’s new commercial and administrative headquarters will be located.
In a statement, the Transport and Infrastructural Development Ministry highlighted on going works being carried out countrywide.
“The Shurugwi-Mhandamabwe Road reconstruction is progressing well. Surfacing works are currently underway, adding more kilometres of good road network infrastructure. This enhancement will improve road safety and reduce travel times,” said the statement.
Harare City Council has also partnered the private sector to set up an interactive digital billboard in Africa Unity Square to complement Government efforts to restore Harare to its once sunshine city status.
Among the partners is Africom and Nhosvo Culture and Heritage who have donated interactive informative boards.
Nhosvo culture and heritage operations director Mr Garikayi Makuyah said the interactive billboards were a first of their kind.
“We have set up an interactive digital billboard which has got interesting culture and heritage sites of the city and its history. What one needs to do is to go to Africa Unity Square, check out the billboard and scan it where there is a QR code which gives links to buildings and sites. It also has an application which gives you Google mapping to go to those sites,” he said.
Mr Makuyah said the idea is to launch and collaborate with the city to offer virtual tours for local travellers as well as students and international visitors to give them an opportunity of experiencing the pre-colonial, colonial and post colonial history of Harare and other places.
In a statement, Africom business development manager Olga Chagonda said citizens, tourists and stakeholders can now access summarised reviews on sites of historic and cultural importance in Zimbabwe.
“Africom is proud to lead a path in the ICT and Telecoms industry, to market Zimbabwe’s cultural and heritage legacy, both domestically and globally. This initiative is particularly imperative to controlling and determining the narrative that is communicated domestically and to the world on our nation Zimbabwe.
“In solidarity and response to the SADC initiative of setting up the Museum of African Liberation in Zimbabwe, we are pleased to announce the digitisation drive that Africom, Nhosvo and the City of Harare have embarked on,” she said.
Ms Chagonda said as part of building the social fabric and giving back to the community, Africom is involved in several community-centred initiatives.
“Africom seeks to use its vast business networks, database and partnerships to broadcast the information on informative boards at each stage of the project and as the national roll out progresses.
“We continue to encourage institutes of learning, local businesses, private and government institutions to partake of this opportunity to broadcast as well as reclaim our cultural and heritage legacy,” he said.
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