The Sunday News
Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Midlands Bureau
GOKWE South Rural District Council has embarked on a roads rehabilitation project after receiving $150 000 from the Zimbabwe National Road Authority (Zinara) and $21 000 from the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing.
Gokwe South RDC chief executive officer Mr Silas Velani said the local authority had started rehabilitating a road that links Gokwe Town and Gokwe South at a cost of $79 000 while some of the money would go towards rehabilitating Wanyawanya Road which has a depression, making the area inaccessible particularly during the rainy season.
Mr Velani said the local authority was speeding up the road maintenance and rehabilitation exercise to ensure villagers and cotton farmers were able to use the roads and avoid inconvenience.
He said some of the roads that would be rehabilitated were those that were affected by floods and incessant rains when Cyclone Dineo ripped through the country and left a trail of destruction.
“We received $150 000 from Zinara and $21 000 from the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing.
“We have started rehabilitating some of the roads. Most of the roads that we are prioritising are those that have been affected by the floods early this year.
“We are also prioritising a depression at Wanyawanya which makes the area which is under Chief Sayi inaccessible during the rainy season.
“However, the resources we have are not enough to service all the roads that we would have wished to rehabilitate.
“We hope to do more roads once we get more resources,” he said.
Mr Velani said Gokwe was a farming community and there was a need to improve the road network to ensure that farmers were not inconvenienced in transporting their produce to markets.
He said most farmers have reverted to cotton farming after the Government started giving support in the form of inputs and implements to improve production of the white gold.
Gokwe has a poor road network which has resulted in the district being a little isolated from the rest of the country and lagging behind in terms of development.
Mr Velani said Gokwe South was still grappling with water challenges in some parts where there were no adequate boreholes and other safe water sources.
