Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve and Raymond Jaravaza, Zimpapers Writers
THE Government has to date paid over US$700 000 for tools and small equipment to revitalise key Road Maintenance Units across the country to ensure newly rehabilitated roads are consistently monitored and maintained, thereby preventing rapid deterioration and protecting public funds.
The move to safeguard the substantial investments made under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme Phase 2 (ERRP2) reflects the Second Republic’s unwavering commitment to sustainable infrastructure development.
The resuscitation and equipping of the road maintenance units is being spearheaded by the Department of Roads within the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development.
Chief Engineer for Maintenance, Eng Martha Ndoro, told Zimpapers in an interview about the ongoing capacitation strategy.
“A total of about US$700 000 has been paid so far for tools and small equipment for 10 road maintenance units in the
Department of Roads out of the requirement of US$2 240 000,” said Eng Ndoro.
“We have 112 road maintenance units countrywide as a department, with half of those operational. As such, we are in the process of equipping them, beginning with 10, one per province.
“There are other units, however, under different road authorities like Rida and councils, but as the Department of Roads in the ministry, we are equipping these 10 for a start.”
The latest procurement complements the earlier acquisition of new equipment, including tractors commissioned by the Minister of Transport early this year, which were purchased from HASST Zimbabwe.
This project is a direct Cabinet directive aimed at creating a sustainable maintenance culture.
“The ministry started this project to ensure that while they rehabilitate roads, they also maintain them and it was a directive from Cabinet to resuscitate all our Road Maintenance Units,” she said.
The revitalised units will provide essential first-line services, focusing on routine upkeep like pothole patching, drainage clearing, and grading to significantly reduce road deterioration and maintain quality road networks for motorists.
In addition to reviving the units, ambitious plans are underway to establish asphalt plants nationwide. This will provide a local and consistent supply of key materials, reducing costs and delays while complementing the maintenance efforts.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) is intensifying its efforts to support road authorities, particularly local councils, to acquit and access further funding for their planned maintenance programmes.
A significant challenge in the first half of the year was the low utilisation rate of allocated funds by some authorities, primarily due to a failure to properly account for initial disbursements.
In an interview at a recent event in Bubi, Zinara chief executive officer, Mr Nkosilathi Ncube, explained the process and the bottleneck. He clarified that Zinara funds programmes proposed by the councils themselves.
“I think the main thing is that the process is as follows, as Zinara, we do not determine the roads or the programmes that are supposed to be carried out,” said Mr Ncube.
“The process starts with the council and at the end of the year, the council does its own road maintenance programme. We, as Zinara and the Ministry of Transport, then look at the programme and say ‘well, according to the budget that we have, we can accommodate so much’,” he said.
Mr Ncube detailed the critical point of failure.
“After that, we then give the councils something just to start the project. This then separates the boys from men, so to speak, where some come to acquit, others wait till November. So, really, the issue is on council processes,” he said.
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Mr Ncube noted that various reasons, from protracted procurement processes to claims of inadequate initial funding, have been given for the delays.
Consequently, some councils with acquitted funds found themselves unable to access further allocations in the first quarter.
He said that as Zinara moves into the second half of the year, the focus is now on aggressively supporting road authorities to acquit and access funding.
The road fund manager is stepping up engagement, offering technical support and clearer implementation guidelines to resolve local challenges and speed up fund absorption.
Further, Zinara is enhancing its monitoring and reporting frameworks to improve transparency and performance tracking.
He said it is also pleasing to note that Road Authorities have embraced Zinara’s capacitation strategy, with some already procuring their own equipment using disbursements.
A prime example is Gwanda Municipality, which recently procured a grader, an iron roller, and a tipper truck at a total cost of US$450 000, with Zinara contributing US$232 000.
The move is aimed at building in-house capacity and reducing crippling hiring costs.
