Karoi-Binga road well on course

Walter Nyamukondiwa Kariba Bureau
Work on the Karoi-Binga Road is progressing well amid calls on Government to modernise the equipment being used by the District Development Fund (DDF) to undertake major national projects.

DDF needs new equipment to fully and efficiently undertake national road projects including the 343-kilometre road which links Karoi and Binga that will in turn reduce the distance between Harare and Victoria Falls by more than 200km.

The scope of work includes tarring of the road with the first 10 kilometres earmarked for completion this year.

At least five kilometres starting from Chivakanenyama to Kanyati Primary School have been completed with plans to complete the remaining five kilometres budgeted for 2019 by end of the year.

Government has leveraged on proceeds from the 2 percent intermediated tax to finance major national projects.

Gravelling has been done up to Zvipani Business Centre with another contractor working on the Siakobvu stretch making it more navigable than it has ever been for a long time.

It takes about three hours to cover the dusty stretch.

This is expected to reduce the number of hours that people spend on the road while the cost of transport is expected to go down drastically as more transport operators ply the route.

A 160km trip from Karoi to Siakobvu costs around $150 using Ecocash while the 50km stretch between Siakobvu and Mola costs around $150 owing to the poor state of the road.

The road leads up to Bumi Hills and is only suitable for 4×4 vehicles only.

DDF requires equipment for processing tar. It is still using rudimentary methods such as setting up a fire to melt the tar before applying it.

This takes time while also taking its toll on the environment as firewood is needed. Another major challenge has been the long distances that DDF employees have to travel to get water.

“The project suffered some delays owing to unavailability of water owing to the drought and distances between the site of operation and water point,” said an official who cannot be named.