Speed up Falls road repairs, Minister says

Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter

THE Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Matabeleland North Province, Cde Richard Moyo, has called for the expedition of rehabilitation works on the Victoria Falls Road.

The province is home to one of the seven wonders of the world, Victoria Falls, and also home to the largest game park, Hwange National Park, as well as Binga which has various tourist attractions.

He said the previous contractor abandoned the works and left the site that had been set up in Gwayi.

“We have tried to ensure work is done, the contractor, Bitumen World is on-site in the province and we have been in consultations with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Transport to continue supporting the road repairs because it is a very important road that we cannot afford to ignore.

The road is littered with expansive and deep potholes and they have been causing accidents as motorists tried to manoeuvre.

The contractor is repairing those potholes to enable people to travel along the road safely.

Motorists have raised a lot of concerns about the highway with some even circulating pictures on social media and we have noted that it needs attention as a matter of urgency.

I think issues of funding have been taken care of and work must move fast.

“It is very difficult to get timelines from these contractors, at one moment they start work then they stop midway and you do not know why they would have stopped working, so it is difficult to establish solid timelines with them.

But this road needs to be fixed quickly and I think this contractor needs to increase the teams on the ground, so that the work moves faster and the road is repaired,” he said.

The Minister, said tourists and members of the public travelling to places like Binga were the most affected.

“For us, it is the tourists that will be going to Hwange and Victoria Falls that are greatly affected. Members of the public who will be going to Lupane and Binga also have a tough time navigating the road because it is severely damaged.

Another challenge is that bus fares tend to go up because of poor road networks making life difficult for the citizens,” he said.

The Victoria Falls Road repair is part of the broader rehabilitation works that are taking place in the country, with the Government rehabilitating the road from Beitbridge, Bulawayo up to Victoria Falls. The road is a strategic trade route as it connects Zimbabwe with South Africa, Zambia and Botswana.-@NyembeziMu