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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
The rehabilitation of the 113km Presidential Lutumba-Tshikwalakwala Road in Beitbridge East constituency is nearing completion, Beitbridge district administrator Mr Simon Muleya has said.

The grading had been done from Lutumba to Tshikwalakwala and engineers were left with the setting up of culverts and bridges.

Mr Muleya said the road, which had become inaccessible, was repaired after Government intervened through the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Dr Joram Gumbo, and his State Security counterpart, Cde Kembo Mohadi.

The Zimbabwe National Roads Administration, District Development Fund and the Beitbridge Rural District Council are jointly working on the upgrad- ing.

“We are very happy with the work on the ground. This is one of the key roads in the district, which cuts across Beitbridge East constituency.

“The road serves as a link for people living in the area within the Beitbridge Town and Chiredzi districts,” he said.

“The bad state of the road was affecting monitoring of Government programmes and the movement of grain, and had also triggered perennial transport shortages,” he added.

Mr Muleya, who is also the chairman of the Rural District Development Committee, said horticulture farmers in the district were finding it hard to transport their produce to Beitbridge Town.

He said the road also lies on the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, which encompasses Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa.

Mr Muleya said that resources were being mobilised for the construction of another bridge at Tshikwakwala area to link Chiredzi and Beitbridge districts.

“The bridge was swept away by floods in 2013 and since then, it has not been repaired,” said the DA.

Minister Mohadi, who is also the legislator for Beitbridge East constituency, said recently that the Lutumba-Tshikwalakwala Road was important in driving economic and tourism activities for the district and the country.