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Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has reopened the Gokwe-Chireya Road after successfully completing the $900 000 Gokwe town gully and road rehabilitation programme.

The gully, which was threatening to swallow some parts of Gokwe town, had cut off the Gokwe-Chireya Road prompting drivers to take a longer route to get into and out of the town centre. Midlands provincial roads engineer Stephen Kamutema confirmed that the gully and road rehabilitation programme had been completed.

“Yes, the gully and the road have been rehabilitated and the road is now open to traffic. What remains is its official opening or handover to the town council. Over $900 000 was poured by the Government into that project,” he said. Eng Kamutema said the reclamation of the massive gully that was also threatening the Gokwe Magistrates Court, the Government complex and other buildings, involved putting in place soil erosion protection slabs to prevent its re-occurrence. Gokwe Town Council secretary Ms Melania Mandeya hailed Government for availing the funds for the reclamation of the gully.

“The gully had cut the road, which is a link between suburbs, town centre, hospital and Chireya highway. Motorists were being forced to take longer and winding routes. Pedestrians were also finding it difficult to walk into town and had resorted to hiring cabs for the five-minute distance,” said Ms Mandeya. Ms Mandeya said there were still five more gullies around the same area that needed attention.

“To complement Government effort, council is putting in place storm water drains to combat soil erosion. The problem is that we don’t have access to free gravel, we are being forced to buy from the Rural District Council which is making the programme expensive for us,” she said.