Govt races with time to complete roads rehabilitation

Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
GOVERNMENT is racing against time to complete Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme Phase Two (ERRP2) before the onset of the rains.

President Mnangagwa launched the ERRP in April after most of the country’s roads were damaged by heavy rains in the 20202/21 rain season.

Phase One and Two target is to make roads navigable through pothole sealing, Phase Three, which will come at a later stage, include reconstruction of some of the country’s roads.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Deputy Minister Mike Madiro on Friday assessed some of the road rehabilitation projects in Bulawayo and Matabeleland South province.

He drove along the Bulawayo-Gwanda Road before making a brief stop at the Esigodini Toll Gate, which is expected to be expanded into a four-way lane before the end of the month.

In Gwanda Town, he held a meeting with Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Abednego Ncube, who briefed him on the state of the roads in the province.

Minister Ncube said most of the roads in the province need to be rehabilitated and the locals would not mind having tollgates on some roads as long as they become trafficable.

In Bulawayo, the Deputy Minister assessed Siyepambili Drive, which falls under the ERRP programme, accompanied by officials from his ministry, Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) chief executive officer Mr Nkosilathi Ncube as well as the Bulawayo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Judith Ncube.

Deputy Minister Madiro expressed satisfaction with the work that has so far been done on most roads.

He said the implementation of the ERRP started at a slow pace due bottlenecks which had since been attended to.

“It was observed that the ERRP implementation started at a slow pace due to procuring challenges but this has since been resolved. It is true that when rains start, the ERRP programme will be slowed down. The ministry and various stakeholders are working flat out to ensure most of the work is completed before the onset of the rains. There are many interventions that the engineers are employing, including the bulk procurement of materials for use on the various projects,” he said. — @nqotshili.