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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
The upgrading of the road linking the Beitbridge Border Post and Harare has helped improve the country’s road network, pushed infrastructure development and also boosted the envisaged rural transformation.
Communities living along the 80km road stretch from Beitbridge up to the Bubi area along the highway have been the biggest winners in terms of infrastructure development and the creation of employment and small industries.
Bitumen World, contracted by Government to construct that stretch, has in the last three years employed two thirds of its work force from communities living along the highway.
In addition, they have opened a granite quarry mine in the Mahuhushe area, where they are processing all their raw materials for roads civil works.
They have also donated 10 000 bricks, 100 bags of cement, 50 cubic meters of quarry stone, and 50 breeding goats to villagers in Ward 5.
Bitumen World project manager for Beitbridge, Mr Bigboy Sibindi, said some of the granite was being processed to fix roads in Beitbridge town.
“We have developed a massive precast yard at the quarry mine at the Mahuhushe area in Ward 5,” he said. “This is where we are processing all the raw materials we need to construct the highway and roads in Beitbridge urban.
“You will realise that besides creating employment opportunities for people in adjacent villages, this is a cost-cutting move that also addresses a big logistical headache that involves moving thousands of tonnes of material from areas like Harare to Beitbridge.”
Bitumen World required 21 000 kerbings, 800 000 interlocking bricks (G-blocks) for roads surface and 1,1 million pavers for the 5km walkway between the border post and the major road leading to Bulawayo and Harare.
These are part of the add-ons of the Beitbridge Town dual carriageway leading from the border post to the Y-junction where the Bulawayo and Harare roads split the traffic.
Mr Sibindi said the company had employed 80 people from the Mahuhushe, Lutumba and Tshapfutshe areas at the granite mine, while scores of others had been hired along the 80km stretch that links Beitbridge town and the Bubi area.
“Besides boosting employment opportunities, the communities will also benefit from the skills transfer and be able to make a living after the construction of this highway,” he said.
“We have also helped the community to build a secondary school in the Langeni area and the construction of a pre-school at the Mahuhushe area. More community social responsibility programmes will be carried out during the course of the road construction.”
The company was now left with constructing 44km of the road between Matshiloni area and the Beitbridge town.
Mr Sibindi said they were targeting to open 22km of surfaced road before the end of the year and that had covered a lot of ground with regards to earth works.
He said they were looking at completing the whole stretch in the first few weeks of next year.
“We are also starting work in the Runde River area, where a team is already on site busy with earth works,” said Mr Sibindi.
Mr Ophias Tshiyambo from Lutumba said they were excited at the prospect of continued granite mining in the area after the roads construction.
Many jobless youths had their economic status changed after being employed at the precast processing yard.
“We appreciate the efforts of the Second Republic to transform our rural area at the same time improving the revenue streams at the household level,” said Mr Tshiyambo.
Miss Grace Ndou from Mahuhushe area, who is employed at the quarry, said more women were now able to fend for their families.
The quarry had given them equal opportunities to balance the unemployment gap between men and women.
Mr Vhengani Tendele said his life had improved in the last three years after being employed during the roads construction programme.
“Besides getting a job, I have learned a lot of skills on the general and roads construction project, and I am convinced most people from this community have gained a lot of experience to be able to make a living after this project,” he said.
Beitbridge East legislator, Cde Albert Nguluvhe, said the Second Republic had stayed true to its pre-elections promise to transform rural areas, increase infrastructure development and create more employment.
Hundreds of people from Beitbridge district were to hired during the course of the many construction projects ongoing in the district in the last three years.
“This is massive, considering that we have the highway construction, road construction in the town, the ERRP programme and the border transformation,” said Cde Nguluvhe.
“At the same time, I want to urge all those contractors coming to carry out a number of projects in our area to give priority to local residents when it comes to employment opportunities.”
Online Reporter