BULAWAYO councillors have suggested that the central government needs to allow local authorities to receive road rehabilitation funds directly from the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) to expedite the process.
Currently, Zinara remits the funds to the government and local authorities then apply to the state to be allocated the resources.
The government has the sole discretion of whether to approve or disapprove the applications of road rehabilitation funds from the councils.
However, speaking during a council meeting recently, Bulawayo councillors felt the poor state of their roads was a result of this red-tape surrounding the allocation of funds.
“May the central government allow local authorities to get money directly from Zinara so that we can be able to fix our roads in time.
“Sometimes a certain road will be in need of emergency rehabilitation, but the process of acquiring funds from Zinara takes time which derails development. Waiting for the central government to approach Zinara is a lengthy process.
“As it is, public transport is failing to move from point one to another because of deplorable roads,” ward 7 councillor Sikhululekile Moyo said.
Moyo noted that while authorities were prioritising roads in the central business district, it was crucial to also focus on outskirt roads as they were in a deplorable state.
“When selecting roads to fix, the council must not just focus on the city centre, but in other areas and suburbs as well.
“In my ward, there are roads that are no longer accessible and residents walk for long distances, which puts their lives in danger of robbery and other issues. There is a need to prioritise such roads,” she said.
Ward 22 councillor Rodney Jele said the road rehabilitation process was progressing at a slow pace because of limited machinery.
He said the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) and Zinara were depending on the same equipment to work on roads hence they take turns.
“The road rehabilitation process is slow because the machinery we use is the same that is being used to service the Emhlangeni stands as well as by Zinara to fix roads, so we take turns to use them,” he said.
Jele said due to the shortage of machinery, it was crucial for councillors and residents to work closely with council and assist with road rehabilitation.
He highlighted that councillors could identify roads in their wards that needed urgent attention and liaise with council to get aggregates so that residents fix the roads on their own.
“Councillors can make arrangements with residents to fix roads in their wards. They approach the council to get the required sand. It is important that residents and council work together,” he said.
Tamary Chikiwa
in BULAWAYO
