Temporary footbridge erected at damaged Sesame Bridge

A temporary footbridge has been erected to facilitate movement while awaiting the rehabilitation works at Sesame Bridge in Gokwe, which was swept away by heavy rains last week.

The bridge connects Gokwe South and Gokwe North constituencies and was swept away by floods during heavy rains that pounded most parts of the country leaving villagers from both districts stranded.

The heavy rains also swept away a borehole drilling rig, which had broken down at the Mutange River. Given its importance, rehabilitation works were expected to begin as soon as possible to allow villagers to easily connect between the two districts.

Midlands provincial roads engineer, Stephen Kamutema, said it was still too risky to start working on the affected bridge.

“We carried out an assessment after the disaster to assess the extent of damage. As it stands, it’s too dangerous to do anything on the ground. The ground is too soft and the water levels are still too high,” said Engineer Kamutema.

He said another assessment will be carried out this week.

“After the next assessment, we will be able to tell whether or not to start work. We are aware of the importance of the bridge but our hands are still tied as it stands.”

The bridge was constructed when Gokwe, which used to be one district, was separated into two. The division also led to the construction of Sanyathi Road, which linked Gokwe Nemangwe and Nembudziya, the major business centres.

The destruction of Sesame Bridge means that people are now travelling via Mutora, which is about 120 kilometres more.

Gokwe North District development co-ordinator, Mr Martin Musakanda said the district has literally been isolated.

“The district has been cut off from the rest of the world so to speak. It is more difficult for people to travel to Gokwe Centre where we do most of our business. The distance has been increased by more than 100 kilometres making it difficult for people to travel,” he said.

Mr Musakanda said they rely on Gokwe South District Hospital, which has also been made inaccessible by the situation.

“We cannot access health services because we rely on Gokwe South Hospital. We also have people who are into mining and farming who frequent Gokwe South for mining equipment, farming inputs and so on, that is how dire the situation is,” said Mr Musakanda.

Gokwe-Sesame constituency member of the House of Assembly, Cde Madro Matiza, said as a stop-gap measure they have erected a footbridge.

“We were forced to erect a footbridge because we were having problems in crossing patients to access health facilities. The footbridge is strong as it was erected using strong steel bars,” he said.

He said a contractor had since been appointed and work is set to start next week.

“I am reliably informed that the Government has since appointed a contractor and is set to start work next week. We really need the bridge as it is the shortest route to Kadoma and other places like Karoi and Hurungwe,” said Matiza.