-collects paltry US$1.2m annually
Martin Muleya
MUTARE CITY-The country’s third largest city is facing a daunting challenge; its roads are crumbling and the local authority is struggling for funding to fix them.
A staggering US$108million is required to implement a comprehensive programme to restore the city’s roads to trafficable state.
However, the local authority’s efforts to collect revenue from residents has yielded a meager US$1.2 million per year, dedicated solely to road maintenance. This amount is a far cry from the required US$11 million per month, leaving a significant funding gap of US$10m.
Addressing residents during a Mutare City Council in collaboration with United Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Trust (UMRRT) roads indaba at Mutare Hall, Town Clerk Blessing Chafesuka admitted that the state of the gateway city to the sea’s roads is deplorable and a cause for great concern.
The US$1.2 million collected will enable the city to rehabilitate only 7km of road, a modest but crucial step towards improving the city’s infrastructure.
“On average the roads engineer has said we need US$11 million for our roads to be in proper state. We are collecting just US$1.2 dedicated to roads and it’s coming in local currency. From our 2025 budget discussion on how to improve our roads, it was agreed that rates would increase from $1.16 to $2.26 in high density suburbs, for low density it will increase to $9.16 while on commercial properties it will increase to $51 per month. From this forecast we expect to increase our collections to US$1.8 million for the roads per month.
“This is far less than the US$11 million required to properly maintain our roads network in good shape. But we expect this intervention to improve our coverage to around 7km a year that we can fully rehabilitate,” explained the Town Clerk.
Mutare Informal Traders Association (MITA) president Itai Kariparire sang from a different hymn saying that even if the funds were available there was no way the local authority could construct the roads in the face of the incessant rains.
Instead he said as an interim measure council should resort to filling potholes with gravel for the roads to be trafficable.
“Besides having the lack of funding we have an involuntary weather system, so I would suggest that council fills all potholes with gravel for the roads to be trafficable. We can also identify major roads where we have road gangs who will be working on that particular road while we look for permanent solution since there is no money and people want to travel,” said Kariparire.
The city’s roads have been in a state of disrepair for years, causing frustration and economic hardship for residents, deterring investment and hindering growth.
As the local authority continues to grapple with its funding conundrum, residents remain hopeful that a solution will be found. With the city’s economy and livelihoods hanging in the balance, the need for urgent action to address Mutare’s road crisis cannot be overstated.
