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Gloria Muruva and
Mutsawashe Mashandure
Despite the inconvenience of slow traffic movement due to temporary road closures, motorists have welcomed the continued rehabilitation of roads, hailing it as a long overdue initiative to rid Harare of pothole-ridden roads.
Traffic jams are usually seen in the morning and evening, with some school children or even working class people running late and sometimes it lasts up to midday. Some motorists end up moving into the on-coming lanes, adding to the gridlock.
In separate interviews yesterday, motorists hailed the rehabilitation of roads, saying it was a crucial step towards reducing traffic accidents, although there were the delays caused by the road works.
Mrs Brita Chisvo, a frequent user of the Harare roads, applauded the Government’s efforts and said: “I appreciate this initiative. We can now safely move our cars without the danger of potholes. I believe road accidents will be reduced.”
Mrs Chisvo expressed optimism that the end result would be worth the wait, while acknowledging the temporary inconvenience of delays due to road closures.
“We know things will be better soon when these roads are completed, with improved safety and reduced risk of accidents as major benefits,” she said.
Mr Calvin Butawo from Borrowdale Brooke said with the road rehabilitation, the Government is fulfilling its commitment towards Vision 2030.
“As our President promised to develop the country towards an upper-middle-income country by 2030, Now our roads are smooth, which I appreciate. It shows that our President is a man of his words. And with the SADC summit meeting that is going to happen, this will make our visitors testify that Zimbabwe is just not as ordinary as it is perpetrated,” he said.
Mr Kanyekanye said there was need to exercise patience as the Government was doing a good thing in rehabilitation the roads.
“I think people just need to be patient it’s for a short phase, and soon, our roads will be completed,” he said.
Ms Skyler Milanty said the rehabilitation of roads will improve industrial development.
“We all know that if the roads are smoothly constructed, this may aid a country in its business development as the import and export of goods will be very easy, hence improving our economic development by 2030,” she said.
Mrs Tendai Dondo said this rehabilitation of roads had casued delays for police officers to help in the traffic process.
“The road rehabilitation is a blessing in disguise as it delays traffic movements, hence the fact that a distance that you can take in 15 minutes may extend to 30 minutes.
“As a result, we are afraid of losing our jobs if we become late at work. My appeal is that if police officers are engaged in helping to control traffic, this may help to solve delays on the road,” she said.
Harare City Council spokesperson Mr Stanley Gama said measures were in place to control traffic the city centre.
“The city council only control traffic in the central business district only and every morning and evening both the Zimbabwe Republic Police and Municipal police will be at intersection controlling traffic,” he said.
Online Reporter