Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve
Victoria Falls Reporter
The City of Victoria Falls is witnessing a major upgrade of its road network through a comprehensive city-wide rehabilitation programme funded by Zinara, the collector of vehicle licence fees and toll charges.
The centrepiece of this initiative is the resealing of two critical roads—one in the industrial area and the other in a low-density suburb — aimed at strengthening infrastructure in the premier tourist destination.
According to official Zinara disbursement figures, the Victoria Falls City Council had a budget allocation of ZiG6,6 million for road works in the last financial year.
By September, ZiG3,4 million had been utilised, representing 52 percent of the budgeted sum.
In addition to financial support, Zinara budgeted 10 358 litres of fuel for the teams working on the city’s roads, of which 5 000 litres had been disbursed to support operations.
In an interview yesterday, City Engineer Bongani Dube outlined the scope and importance of the projects.
“Currently, we are working on our reseal project, which is Courtney Selous, in one of our low-density areas. The project scope involves the resealing of two roads, one in the industrial area and one in the low-density area,” he said.
“In the industrial area is Ramsey Road, which is 400 metres, and this one that we are standing in, while Courtney Selous is 1,4 kilometres,” said Eng Dube at the site.
Masimba Holdings has been contracted by the council to execute the resealing.
“We have been funded by Zinara to do this project, and Zinara assists us to carry out these kinds of projects and also routine works,” said Eng Dube, emphasising the strategic objective of the initiative.
“The reason why we are doing these reseal works is that we want to increase the lifespan of the roads we have, the access roads in our local authority area. Currently, we have done the preliminary works, which include pothole patching, crack sealing and edge break repairs. Then this reseal comes as the seal coat and strengthens or increases the lifespan of the road to close to about three years,” he added.
“So, whatever we are doing currently, we want to keep our road network trafficable and of good quality.”
Eng Dube also highlighted the broader impact of Zinara funding beyond the major reseals.
“Through this Zinara funding, we have been able as a local authority to do so many routine works like pothole patching, drain cleaning, vegetation control, gravelling of our network and on different types of our roads,” he said.
He stressed that this was crucial in ensuring that the roads were trafficable and safe for motorists and tourists, given that the city is a prime global tourism destination.
The rehabilitation marks a critical step in preserving the city’s infrastructure, ensuring smoother and safer travel for residents, businesses and the millions of tourists who visit the iconic destination annually.
