Govt avails $900 000 to Gokwe town

Midlands Correspondent
Government has availed $900 000 to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development for the reclamation of a deep and fast developing gully in Gokwe town, which is threatening infrastructure.

The gully is expanding fast towards the district administrator’s office, the new court building and the police station.

Midlands provincial roads engineer Eng Stephen Kamutema said the transport ministry had taken full responsibility for the gully, and erosion control measures had been put in place after Government disbursed funds for the reclamation exercise.

Eng Kamutema said the reclamation would start at the beginning of the dry season to allow moisture content of the loose soils of Gokwe to decrease.

He said the erosion had been worsened by the incessant rains in the area since the beginning of the year, some of which resulted in flooding.

Eng Kamutema said the ministry had started procuring equipment and material required for the reclamation.

The gully, which developed between Hospital Road and Nemangwe Road, has now completely destroyed the road and is cutting underneath the court building.

Motorists have since abandoned Hospital Road in a bid to avoid the gully that is threatening both people and animals that freely roam the town.

Initially, an estimated $500 000 was needed to reclaim the sink-holes and prevent them from destroying infrastructure in Gokwe town, but the figure has since ballooned to about $1 million.