District cut off by floods

Sukoluhle Ndlovu, Midlands Correspondent
OVER 8 000 villagers including 500 pupils in Mberengwa North have been left stranded after Jeka-Chegato Bridge along Mwenezi River was destroyed by floods following heavy rains that have been pounding the district in the last two weeks.

The collapse of Jeka-Chegato Bridge comes months after it was rehabilitated late last year at a cost of about $500 000.

Government forked out the staggering amount of money to repair the bridge after it had also collapsed in February last year due to heavy rains, forcing villagers to use a long route passing through Gwanda in Matabeleland South.

Mberengwa North MP Cde Tafanana Zhou said the most affected villagers are from Wards 12, 15 and 16.

Cde Zhou said pupils are not attending school while villagers and patients are failing to access Jeka Clinic because the district has been cut off from the rest of the country.

“Jeka-Chegato Bridge that was rehabilitated late last year has been destroyed by floods which wreaked havoc in Mberengwa North leaving at least 8 000 villagers and 500 students attending Chegato Primary School,  Chegato High School and Ruzengwe Secondary School stranded.

“The most affected villagers are from Wards 12 under Chief Mapiravana and Ward 15 and 16 under Chief Mposi. The children have not been able to go to school as they cannot cross the flooded Mwenezi River,” said Cde Zhou.

He said villagers from the Wards 12, 15 and 16 were no longer able to access health services at Jeka Clinic because they can’t cross the flooded river.

Cde Zhou said plans were underway to rectify the problem so that people could go about with their everyday life.

“Plans to rectify the problem are currently underway and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has already paid a team of soldiers who have been mandated to construct a bale bridge so that people can continue with their life that has been brought to a halt,” he said.

The MP said some motorists were now using longer routes to travel to areas like Gwanda and Beitbridge.