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Victor Maphosa
Mashonaland East Bureau
THE Second Republic under President Mnangagwa is committed to ensuring that roads across the country are usable, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona has said.
Officially opening to traffic a completed 21km stretch of the Wedza-Mushandirapamwe Road that was recently, Minister Mhona reiterated Government’s desire to bring development to every corner of the country.
The Government contracted Masimba Holdings, a local private company, to upgrade the road and its completion will boost economic activities across southern Mashonaland East.
“The Second Republic is not stopping in as far as development is concerned and no place will be left behind. So today I am happy to be officially opening this stretch to motorists. Initially, this road was to be upgraded up to Mushandirapamwe, but now we will include the stretch from 10 Miles shopping centre to Marondera.
“Road rehabilitation and upgrading will not end here in Hwedza alone. In this province we have a number of roads that we are working on. We have Murehwa-Madicheche Road which will go as far as Mazowe Bridge. We have Murehwa-Macheke and Marondera-Musami roads and these will be upgraded as soon as possible.
“We are also working on other roads across the country and I want to say to people in areas that we have not reached, rest assured that we will be there”.
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Mashonaland East, Dr Aplonia Munzverengwi, said developments being carried out by the Second Republic under President Mnangagwa should be applauded.
“As we stand here today, surrounded by the fruits of the labour from our hard-working ministry and visionary President, let us take a moment to appreciate the hard work and determination of all those who have contributed to the success of this ongoing project.
“From the construction workers who toiled tirelessly on site to the engineers and project managers who oversaw the planning and execution, each individual has played a vital role in bringing these initiatives to fruition.
“On behalf of the people of Mashonaland East Province, I extend our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering commitment to the development of our province’s infrastructure. We are truly honoured to be a part of this journey of national progress and prosperity under the Second Republic. These projects have not only improved the ease of movement for the people and goods in Mashonaland East but have also generated employment opportunities and catalysed economic growth in the communities they serve.”
In his remarks, Chief Svosve, Mr Weston Zvenyika Kuvandikira, applauded the Second Republic for bringing development not only to Hwedza, but the entire province.
“I am so proud of the Second Republic because I see development everywhere and what makes me happy is that even my people in Hwedza are also enjoying the hard work of the Second Republic. I thank President Mnangagwa for appointing Minister Mhona, who is a hard worker. Roads are key to development and without proper roads, we will not see any meaningful development.”
Assistant District Development Coordinator for Hwedza, Mr Admire Dhliwayo ,said the upgrading of Hwedza-Musandirapamwe road was a welcome development.
“As an office responsible for development co-ordination in Hwedza District, the opening of this stretch of the road is a welcome development that will unlock a lot of economic activities and investment that will enable us to achieve Vision 2030.”
Hwedza residents could not hide their joy and commended Government for walking the talk of “leaving no one and no place behind” on development.
Mrs Lydia Ushe said even transport fares will be reduced now that the road is usable.
“Transporters here charge a lot of money, especially from Hwedza to Harare attributing that to the poor state of the road. Now this road is being upgraded and soon it will be completed, this means even transporters will no longer have to charge exorbitant fares.
“This road is key for economic activities not only for Hwedza district, but for Mashonaland East and also Manicaland. So, we are happy as a people that our Government is walking the talk of improving our livelihoods through development.
“We also have a lot of farmers who transport their produce to markets including those in Harare and Marondera. The journey to the markets will be smooth, thanks to this development,” she said.
Online Reporter