The ManicaPost
Abel Zhakata
Senior Reporter
ALL major roads in Manicaland are taking shape even during the ongoing rainy season as Government works round the clock to modernise road infrastructure under the second phase of the Emergence Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP2).
Under National Development Strategy (NDS1), the Government has committed to speed up infrastructure development as this was a key enabler for economic development.
Secretary for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mr Edgars Seenza, said Government eas closely monitoring progress to ensure all road authorities worked tirelessly to repair roads in their areas of jurisdiction.
He however, said several private companies were contracted to rehabilitate some of the roads, but bottlenecks associated with the tendering process are stalling progress.
“The target set by road authorities is for all major roads to become accessible. On Friday (today), we will meet all the 12 road authorities in the province which are the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, District Development Fund (DDF) and the 10 local authorities. The purpose of the meeting is to get feedback on progress made to date.
“Generally, we are happy with the progress on the ground in terms of the ongoing road repairs, though I want to see more work being done, especially on some roads where private contractors were engaged. Some of the contractors are not yet on the ground as road authorities are following tendering procedures. This process causes delays, but we cannot ignore it as it is a requirement.
“According to reports that I received this week, some of the contractors are finally on the ground, but the bulk of them are yet to commence work. Government is funding everything and once a road authority acquits previous disbursements, Government immediately pours in more money for road repairs. That is how it works,” he said.
Mr Seenza said all State roads were now pothole free.
“All State roads are now pothole free and we are now working on roads that need a bit of resurfacing. In urban and rural areas, we are also encouraging the local authorities to ensure that all major roads are refurbished,” he said.
In Chipinge Town Council’s Wards One to Four, roads are being worked on by Superpower Construction (Pvt) Limited.
The roads were in a poor state with gullies on the carriageway.
The poor state of the roads was also attributed to the district’s poor drainage infrastructure, hence the need to invest in culvert installation and drain lining to preserve the investment on the road.
The scope of works includes 1.62km grading, formation, gravelling, compaction, drain lining and culvert construction.
The compaction will be carried out by the Department of Roads.
The Nyazvidzi Parallel Road in Buhera is being worked on by a contractor, Field of Hope.
The work commenced before ERRP 2 and is ongoing with 40km grading and spot gravelling completed.
The road is a major route which services the south-western parts of Buhera.
It also services 15 schools and three clinics.
“The work includes verge clearing, grading and spot gravelling. The progress is very slow due to frequent equipment breakdowns and long turnaround repairs time, thus the work is behind schedule. About 47.5km has been graded and 5.7km spot gravelling has been achieved. The work quality is good with good camber and drainage,” said Mr Seenza.
Contigan Construction (Pvt) Ltd is doing Changamire Road.
“The road was in a very poor state with gullies and rock outcrops on the carriageway and side drains, making it very difficult to drive through. The scope of works is 15km bush clearing, road formation and gravelling.
“The road services six schools, a clinic, business centres and communities as well as the area where families affected by Cyclone Idai are being resettled. The contractor started work on May 19 and has since completed 10km of verge clearing, of which 4km were done by a dozer, 10km road formation and 8.7km gravelling. About 33 culverts have been de-silted using in-house manual labour. The work is scheduled to be completed by end of August.
“The work being executed by Bitumen World is ongoing along Kopa-Jopa Road. The road is a critical route linking Chipinge and Chimanimani. It serves the Rusitu Valley which has prime banana and fruit plantations that supply most parts of the country.
‘‘The road also services Roscommon tea estates, hydro-power station, Kopa Rural Service Centre and Rusitu Misson,” said the Secretary for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution.
Mr Seenza said the Tilbury Extension and Chimanimani Village roads were severely damaged by Cyclone Idai and had become untrafficable with gullies and boulders deposited by floods on the roads.
“The work is 8km of road formation, gravelling and culvert construction and is being executed by Gwenzi Construction. About 8km road formation has been completed as well as 0.8km gravelling. Dumping of gravel on the remaining section is in progress and the progress is commendable with good workmanship and good camber.
“The terrain is very steep, which leaves the roads prone to damage due high speed of runoff, thus it is prudent to consider surfacing the roads as a long term solution. Gravel is also very scarce in the area, thus resulting in high project costs,” he said.
Ngangu Township in Chimanimani was devastated by Cyclone Idai and the scope of work there includes 5.4km grading and compacted gravelling, drain lining and drainage structures.
Work done by the contractor includes 5.4km road formation to provide good sub-grade and then 2.5km gravelling.
“The work has greatly enhanced accessibility of roads in the area and the community is very grateful,” said Mr Seenza.
