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Freedom Mupanedemo Midlands Bureau
Most of the major projects under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme Phase 2 (ERRP2) in Gokwe North are complete, with the remaining ones set to be finished by the end of next month, District Development Fund (DDF) Permanent Secretary Mr Christopher Shumba has said.
Gokwe North is one of the most remote districts in the Midlands Province and the Second Republic has been investing in road, health and educational infrastructure in the district to catch up with other districts in line with the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), and the desire to ensure no area is left behind.
Mr Shumba, who was in Gokwe North to assess progress of ERRP2, said most of the major projects were 90 percent complete.
One of the key projects, the Gunguhwe Bridge, is also 90 percent complete and should be ready for use in a month’s time.
“We are in Gokwe North to assess the progress of our projects and we are very grateful to the support we are getting from Government financially,” said Mr Shumba.
“We only had challenges in the procurement of cement, but we have secured the consignment now and we expect to have the Gunguhwe Bridge completed before the end of November.”
Gunguhwe Bridge is one of the major links between Gokwe North, Gokwe South and Binga in Matabeleland North province.
During the rainy season, the two Gokwe districts are usually cut from each other with motorists and travellers having to use the longer Kadoma route to access either district.
Mr Shumba said for the first time, the DDF had been fixing all major and feeder roads for the districts to be accessible during the rainy season.
“We are assessing all the areas which become troublesome during the rainy season and we have started with major projects, rehabilitating bridges and roads, (and) the progress so far is pleasing,” he said.
Mr Shumba said DDF was addressing water challenges in Gokwe North and the department was consulting with health experts to address the problem of salty water coming out of most of the boreholes.
“In Gokwe North, we have the water challenge and where we would have drilled boreholes, there is also a problem of the type of water which is salty, so we are working with health experts on how we can overcome this challenge,” he said.
Online Reporter