The Sunday News
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has started refurbishing Robert Mugabe Way and Joshua Mqabuko International Airport Road ahead of the of the 56th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), amid reports that about 70 percent of the city’s roads are in a bad state and require urgent attention.
This year’s edition of the ZITF runs from 28 April to 2 May.
Refurbishment of Robert Mugabe Way and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport Road, follows President Mugabe’s remarks on the state of roads in Bulawayo when he visited the city for the 55th edition of ZITF in 2014.
Officially opening the international event last year, President Mugabe said the problem of bad roads was not only peculiar to Bulawayo but pointed out that the state of roads in the country was appalling.
“I was looking at the road from the airport to here. It was as if it was made in 1924 when I was born. If you put a bit of cement on it to level it, decorate it and put a bit of shoulders to the roads as others do,” he said.
“Look at us wearing these suits and old men like myself, if that road is newer than when I was born in 1924, it must show that it is modern. The councils will say they do not have money, but where does the money go? We pay rates, the Ministry of Local Government must be jerked up to jerk up the councils.”
Information obtained from the local authority shows that at least 17 percent of the city roads have collapsed beyond repair and now need to be redone, with the local authority requiring about $700 million to refurbish its entire road network.
BCC senior public relations officer Mrs Nesisa Mpofu told Sunday News that the local authority had received $800 000 from Zimbabwe National Road Authority (Zinara) as its allocation for 2015 which would be used to face-lift Robert Mugabe Way.
She said work on refurbishing was progressing well and the road would be in an improved condition when ZITF starts.
“Overlaying of the 1,3km section from road over rail to Queens Park Police Station is now complete. We are now working on overlaying intersections along Robert Mugabe Way in the Central Business District, with the intersection between Robert Mugabe Way and Masotsha Ndlovu Avenue now complete.
“Preparatory work in progress for the resealing of the section between Queens Park Police Station and Lutheran Church premises while we are also working on clearing drains and verges, and rehabilitating street lights along the road,” she said.
Mrs Mpofu said council would continue to lobby Zinara to increase annual allocations to allow the local authority to cover more ground in refurbishing roads.
Some of the roads in the city which constitute the 17 percent that has been completely written off and needs to be redone include: Glenville Drive, Gwabalanda Drive, Ndaba Road, Jungle Road, Ematsheni Road, Maduma Road, Mazwi Road, Churchill Road, Wellington Road Sections, Mazwi Village Road, Methodist Village Road, Kabot, Hill, Redstone, McNellie Roads, Lochview Road, Coventry Street, Bilston Road, Nugget Street, Wolverhampton Street to name but a few.
Mrs Mpofu added that council had this year set aside funds for road rehabilitation, which will see reconstruction of 10km, resealing of 20km and overlaying of 3km of roads around the city, while 25km of unsurfaced roads would also be regravelled.
“Of the total network of 2 075km, 70 percent is in poor condition while 354km which is 17 percent of the total road network require immediate heavy rehabilitation. The roads have to be redone as there is no other sustainable intervention measure .
“The major focus of the city is to reseal roads with fair condition to prevent further deterioration. Resealing can increase the useful life of a road by a further 10 years.
“According to the Road Condition Survey carried out in 2012, $700 million is required to bring the entire network to good or better condition,” said Mrs Mpofu.
Government recently announced that the Robert Mugabe Way was also set for dualisation as part of efforts to modernise feeder routes for visitors coming into the country’s main cities through airports.
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Dr Obert Mpofu said the project which is among Government’s major priorities, would be similar to the Harare International Airport Road.
