Lack of funds hampers road maintenance

road networks in the Midlands, an official has said.
Midlands District Development Fund (DDF) provincial co-ordinator, Mr Frederick Tozvireva, said last Friday that Government had embarked on a massive road maintenance programme in the province but the major drawback was lack of funding and labour.
Major repairs, which included grading, pothole filling and patching have already commenced in Gokwe North, Vungu, Gweru, Kwekwe, Mvuma and Shurugwi.
Said Mr Tozvireva: “There is work in progress at the Savara bridge in Gokwe North, which links the area with Binga district.
“The team there is putting compartmentalised boxes while work on the 68km road network of Chimbande-Chireya Road in Gokwe North again has already started and we have already covered 23km.
“These areas, especially the Binga one are accessible only during the dry season but during the rainy season they became impassible. I think movement around the district and the province would be easy after completion,” he said.
Most rural roads in the country are impassable and can best be accessed by ox-drawn carts.
Government, Mr Tozvireva said, availed about US$495 000 and 5 000 litres of diesel for the two projects.
He said similar works were being along the Mission-Vungu Road and the Tugwi area of Shurugwi.
Turning to lack of financial power, Mr Tozvireva said road maintenance was a costly programme hence the need for massive cash injection.
He said the unavailability of labour was also a cause for concern as they relied on voluntary labour most of the times.
“We need cash for a lot of things that include purchasing fuel, paying labour and buying the required material but we have not been able to get enough cash to fulfil our aims.
“In most cases we end up relying on voluntary labour from the surrounding communities, which is a very dangerous move as people can withdraw whenever they wish. They also come on those days they are free.
“Local chiefs have been forthcoming in mobilising communities as is the case in the Kwekwe area but we cannot bank on this.
“What is needed is the money to pay the labour,” he said.
Mr Tozvireva bemoaned the state of equipment the province had.
“Most of our equipment which includes graders and front loaders are old and we are heavily affected as we frequently have breakdowns.
“This affects the whole exercise as we spend most of the time attending to these problems, instead of working flat out to complete the projects.
“In the end, it all goes back to the issue of funding because if we had the money, we would easily purchase new equipment,” he said.
He, however, commended Government for revitalising the road network, adding that most places in the province were inaccessible due to the poor state of the roads.
The DDF has for a long time played a vital role in setting up basic infrastructure to uplift the living standards of the majority of people in rural and resettlement areas.