Online Reporter
The Herald 1981, 2 May 1981
ROADS maintained by the Ministry can handle this year’s bumper crops, the Deputy Minister of Roads and Road Traffic, Mr Nelson Mawema said this week.
Speaking in an interview on his return from a two-day tour of Victoria province and the Lowveld, Mr Mawema said his Ministry was out in full force trying to ensure that all the roads were accessible.
The Ministry had set three-year programme to develop all rural roads into all-weather gravel routes.
Mr Mawema said although the roads in the two areas varied greatly, they were in conditions which allow the safe and comfortable movement of both passenger and goods vehicles.
But he had realised that some of the district and rural councils were not aware that some of the feeder roads were their sole responsibility and had not done anything to improve them.
Mr Mawema said he had authorised the issue of permits to owners of trucks and lorries to ease the demand of transport services during the movement of the bumper crop to depots.
This would go a long way towards relieving transport shortages. But he warned that any transport operator who used this to exploit people by overcharging would find themselves facing the music.
We want transport owners to make their services available to the people and not to abuse this by overcharging.
He did not want to say what the rates should be, but added that the present rates charged by commercial transporters were to yield profit.
Lessons for today:
- The Ministry’s efforts to ensure that roads can handle the bumper crop highlights the importance of infrastructure readiness in supporting agricultural productivity and economic activities.
- The three-year program to develop all rural roads into all-weather gravel routes demonstrates the value of proactive planning and long-term investment in infrastructure to improve accessibility and connectivity.
- All-weather roads improve connectivity between rural and urban areas, making it easier for communities to access essential services such as healthcare, education, and markets.
- The Second Republic of Zimbabwe has undertaken significant efforts in road rehabilitation and construction to improve the country’s infrastructure.
- The road rehabilitation and construction efforts by the Second Republic are significantly benefiting farmers in Zimbabwe.
All-weather roads enable farmers to transport their produce to markets more efficiently, reducing spoilage and increasing their income.
