Online Reporter
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, [email protected]
GWANDA Municipality has committed to prioritising the rehabilitation of the road network in the Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle area this year, using Government allocated funds to ease business logistics and strengthen service delivery.
Speaking during the commissioning of a classroom block at Phakama Primary School in the same area, Gwanda town clerk, Ms Priscillah Nkala, said upgrading the road infrastructure would vastly improve access to the school. Some learners struggle to reach classes during the rainy season due to flooded streams, while motorists also face major challenges crossing them. Ms Nkala said the council’s development plan includes constructing access bridges to address the issue.
“Our roads in this area are not favourable, which has been an inconvenience to residents and motorists. In our plans for this year, one of our priority areas will be improving the road infrastructure. With the Zinara funds, which we will receive, we will prioritise the road infrastructure in this area.
“We will also attend to streams, which have been making it difficult for children, residents and motorists to access the suburb and the school. It’s important that when we have constructed a facility like this one, we also have supporting infrastructure, which enable people to access this facility,” she said.
Ms Nkala said more classroom blocks would be built as the school grows, meaning additional supporting infrastructure would be required to ensure improved accessibility. She added that the council’s efforts were aligned with the “Call to Action: No Compromise to Service Delivery” campaign led by President Mnangagwa. A stronger road network, she noted, drives economic development.
“With the equipment that we purchased as council last year using Zinara funds and money from our coffers, we hope to improve our road network in the entire town. The call to action requires us to improve on service delivery and road maintenance is one of the key areas.
“The rains we have been receiving have caused severe damage to our roads and this is something we will be attending to as a matter of urgency. We’re also working on coming up with more permanent solutions so that we don’t have to be attending to roads every year,” she said.
A resident of Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle, Mr Bekithemba Ndebele, said road rehabilitation was urgently needed. He said public transport operators were avoiding parts of the suburb because of the poor road conditions, while vehicle owners faced rising repair costs.
“We need the council to attend to the roads in our area as a matter of urgency because some places are not accessible and motorists refuse to get to these places, forcing people to walk long distances. The rainy season is the hardest because streams will be flooded.
“Sometimes learners fail to cross the stream and either go back to their homes or wait for the water to go down. Vehicles turn back or wait hours for the water levels to drop. Infrastructure development in our area is long overdue and there is need for council to address the situation,” he said.
— @DubeMatutu
