Govt, council to spruce up high-density roads

Andrew Muvishi Herald Reporter
GOVERNMENT is committed to ensuring that the country has trafficable roads as this improves the doing business environment, a senior official in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has said. Speaking during a tour of roads in Budiriro, Harare, last week, director in the ministry Engineer Zvenyika Chawatama said they were targeting roads mostly in high-density areas.

Mr Chawatama and council officials toured Crowborough Road, which connects the Harare-Bulawayo highway with suburbs like Warren Park, Budiriro and Glen View. The road was rehabilitated recently.

“There are several financial packages put in place to make sure roads are put in good shape. This is part of the new dispensation’s efforts to improve the doing business environment because transport and good road infrastructure remain an important aspect in economic development,” he said.

“We have plans to rehabilitate other high-density roads. We have contractors who are working on roads in Tafara-Mabvuku and we have already rehabilitated roads in Sunningdale. We are also aware that Mufakose roads are extensively damaged.

“We are sending two contractors to work in Mufakose”. Eng Chawatama said roads must be repaired before onset of the rains.

“We have five contractors who are working on our roads and during this phase of road rehabilitation we are targeting 100km around high-density suburbs to be finished before the onset of the rainy season,” he said.

Harare City Council corporate communications manager Mr Michael Chideme said council was concerned by the poor state of roads. He said council required more resources to repair the roads.

“We are fixing roads across the city. As long as there are roads in Harare that require maintenance and rehabilitation, we will repair them,” he said.