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George Maponga Masvingo Bureau
The launch of the $984 million dualisation of the Beitbridge-Harare Highway near Chaka Business Centre in Chirumhanzu by President Mugabe last week has raised hopes of socio-economic turnaround among villagers. Most villagers domiciled along the highway said the official launch of the dualisation project at Gonawapotera Secondary School was a great honour bestowed upon them by the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.

The anticipated influx of thousands of workers building the highway is also expected to be a boon for businesspeople along the highway.

Villagers in Chaka, Mapiye and Madhibha in Chirumhanzu told The Herald recently that they were eagerly waiting for the dualisation project to kick-off after its official launch.

They said the billion dollar project would ease carnage on the highway, with memories still fresh among some of the villagers of the horrific crash that claimed 31 lives after a South Africa-bound Proliner Bus was side-swiped by a haulage truck at Nyamatikiti River Bridge recently.

The place of the accident is just a few kilometres from where President Mugabe officially launched the dualisation project.

Mrs Angela Mapundu of Mapiye village in Chaka said the dualisation project was long overdue.

“The project (dualisation) could not have come at a better time for us because we were pained by the continued carnage on the highway, which could no longer cope with increased vehicular traffic,” she said.

“The President did an excellent job because so many lives were lost on this highway.

“We want to applaud the President and Government for showing their commitment to reducing accidents on this highway.”

Mrs Lindiwe Chaka of Chaka village said villagers in her area were expecting major changes in their lives because of opportunities to be created by the project.

“We are pinning hopes that our unemployed children will get jobs once this project starts and we are appealing to Government to put in place stringent measures and make sure that people close to the highway are given first preference in employment,” she said.

Other villagers cautioned on the need for awareness campaigns to make sure communities along the highway do not encounter social problems because of the anticipated influx of foreigners.

“Community leaders and Government officials should educate their people so that by the time the project ends, we will not have rampant unwanted pregnancies and even ‘foreign diseases’ that will be difficult to deal with,’’ said Mr Sebelo Ncube of Chaka.

Chief Chaka, Mr Francis Chaka, said by launching the project, President Mugabe was honouring his close friend and late national hero Cde Leopold Takawira, who hailed from the area.

Cde Takawira, who died in detention before independence, was a fearless nationalist leader known as the Lion of Chirumanzu and was Vice President of the then Zanu, which together with Zapu was responsible for executing the Second Chimurenga.

“The President and Cde Takawira once came here in the early 1960s and the two had a teaching stint at Driefontein Mission when the winds of nationalism were beginning to sweep across the continent,” he said.

Chief Chaka said he performed some traditional rituals to inform his ancestors of the grand-project.

“I brewed traditional beer and slaughtered a black cow as a way of informing my ancestors who are of the Shumba totem that we were going to have a big occasion to mark the official start of the dualisation of the Beitbridge-Harare Highway,” he said.

Government has already revealed that over 300 000 jobs would be created by the dualisation of the Beitbridge-Harare and Harare-Chirundu highways.

The contract to dualise the Beitbridge-Harare Highway was awarded to an Austrian firm Geiger International and Government has already made it clear that 40 percent of the value of the contract should be awarded to local companies who will be sub-contracted by the firm.