Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, sukulwenkosi.dube@chronicle.co.zw
GWANDA South legislator who is also Deputy Minister for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Omphile Marupi has called for the rehabilitation of the Gwanda- Manama Road which is in a terrible state.
Dr Marupi yesterday toured the road together with Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development officials and transport operators to assess the extent of damage.
The road which is the busiest in Gwanda District is a link to Mlambapele Border Post, irrigation schemes, Manama Hospital, and cattle sales pens. It also links Gwanda to Beitbridge and Kezi.
The road has been severely damaged over the past years, creating a headache for motorists and public transport operators. Heavy rains worsened the state of the road.
About 10km of the road between Garanyemba and Ntepe areas has been severely damaged while certain sections of the road leading to Manama are also in a terrible state.
โI had to engage engineers from the Ministry (of Transport) to come and assess the road so that they can have an appreciation of the extent of damage and the urgency of the matter. This is a major road and it is critical in terms of economic activities in the district,โ said Dr Marupi.
โWe have several irrigation schemes that have been revived in this area. The produce from these irrigations needs to be delivered to the markets using this road. We also have sales pens in this constituency and for trade to take place there is a need for a good road.โ
Dr Marupi said he would lobby with the responsible ministry to expeditiously release funds for the rehabilitation of the road.
He said he will work tirelessly to ensure that the project is treated as a matter of urgency.
Matabeleland South provincial roads Engineer Mangisi Nkomo said seven kilometres of the road require urgent reconstruction while other sections from Gwanda to Manama require resealing.
He said maintenance of the road is among the projects which are earmarked for this year.
โWe have assessed the road which is in a bad state. As a department, we have placed the road in our 2025 programme and the road is scheduled for reconstruction,โ said Dr Marupi.
โThe Department of Roads working with Zinara is working on the recapacitation of our maintenance units. We are also resuscitating all our maintenance units, and will be procuring graders and all the equipment required for road maintenance.โ
The owner of Greenhorse Bus Company, Mr Patrick Dube said the state of the road is impacting negatively on the transport business.
โI have three buses that ply this route and the state of the road is causing severe damage to the vehicles.
โWe now have to take them for frequent servicing to ensure that the buses can operate,โ he said.
โI have been plying this route for decades and passengers have been dependent on our services.โ
A motorist, Mr John Sibanda from Manama area who uses the road daily, expressed concern over its state.
A villager, Mr Jethro Ndlovu said they have tried several times to patch the road using sand but it has not helped.
โThis road is not a problem to motorists only but also pedestrians. Vehicles are now forced to divert from the road,โ he said.
โThis poses a huge threat, especially to children who will be walking to and from school. We really need this road to be rehabilitated as a matter of urgency.โ
The Second Republic is committed to rehabilitating the road network as infrastructural development is key to attaining an upper middle-income economy by 2030. โ @DubeMatutu