…as the road is damaging vehicles
SHANNISE DZOBO
MASVINGO – Motorist in Masvingo City are up in arms against authorities over the unfinished stretch of road between Eddison Zvobgo Street and Robert Mugabe Way along Rekayi Tangwena Street.
The less than 200m stretch of road which also include part of Emmerson Mnangagwa Street has boulders protruding everywhere and is very dusty as the contractor failed to finish the work after ripping off the surface in 2021 under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme Phase 2 (ERRP2).
Motorists are complaining of damage to their tyres and suspension since the road has big boulders in the center of the road which hit the underneath of vehicles if one is not carful enough or is unaware of the state of the road.
Motorists are resorting to using the sides of the main road to avoid damages to their vehicles, but by doing so they are further destroying the drainage of the road.
Masvingo Provincial Roads Engineer Tafara Rondodzai under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development told The Midweek Watch that they are still waiting for funds from treasury to complete the road which has become an eyesore in the CBD.
“We are still waiting for the funds to be allocated again so that we can finish up the road since we had already ripped it off with the intention of rehabilitating it like the other roads,” said Rondodzai.
The government started the ERRP 2 in February 2021 after all roads were declared a state of national disaster with the aim to improve the road network which was extensively damaged during the rainy season with some of them having gone for over 10 years without being attended to.
This program ran from March to December, 2021 and its focus was on repairing 26 000km of the road network with the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration taking over rehabilitation of the roads in the country’s urban areas.
ZINARA contracted companies that were involved in the widening of Beitbridge-Harare Highway that is Exodus and Company, Masimba Holdings, Tensor, Bitumen World and Fossil to rehabilitate damaged urban roads, surprisingly the Rekayi Tangwena stretch was left unfinished.
Road users and touts said that walking even on foot is very dangerous because of the protruding stones and gullies that were left unattended by the contractor in 2021.
They said it is a shame that such shoddy work is done in the country’s oldest urban settlement and on such a historic road named after a fallen hero of the liberation struggle.
“It is very disturbing to see such a bad road in town and knowing fully well that the Ministry was rehabilitating the roads throughout the country this particular one was left without being finished and this road has been damaging our vehicles’ suspension and tyres, we hope the responsible authorities will quickly attend to it as it is a bad advertisement of the ancient city,” said a fuming motorist who plies the Rhodene area with his mushika shika.
One of the vendors that sell food stuffs along the road also mentioned that due to the state of the road they are very prone to diseases that are dust related due to the state of the road and appealed for urgent action to rectify the problem.
“There was absolutely no need for ZINARA or Ministry to contract accompany and allow it to rip off the road like that if they didn’t have the budget.
“Now the road is causing a lot of problems especially to those who are new to the city as they are bound to just turn into the road and encounter boulders and gullies that can cause serious damage to their vehicles,” said Edmore Mutsviri who stays in Rhodene.
When contacted for a comment Masvingo City Town Clerk, Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa said the road is being rehabilitated by the Ministry of Roads and they have no powers over it.
Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance board chairman, Thomas Mbetu said Masvingo City Council cannot afford to abdicate its responsibility on the road since it is under its authority.
“It is sad and unfortunate, that a road of less than 200m is taking nearly 4 years to complete. It’s unfortunate that no one is taking responsibility to complete the long overdue road works.
“Therefore, we call upon Masvingo City council as the regulating authorities and as the local authority to take charge in terms of making sure that the said road gets the attention it deserves in the shortest possible time,” said Mbetu.
