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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke

Manicaland Bureau

GOVERNMENT has to date released $33 million through the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) for the repair and reconstruction of major roads in Manicaland province.

The money is being used for routine road maintenance, with priority being given to the Mutare-Nyanga Road.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joel Biggie Matiza, who was touring Cyclone Idai Recovery Projects in Chimanimani this week, said Government was committed to upgrading the country’s road network and would continue to finance road rehabilitation.

“In the province, there are more works going on,” he said. “Zinara has released about $33 million to date for roads. The Mutare-Nyanga Road and others will benefit. We also have funding under the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) for the Buhera-Birchenough Road.

“Although we want these roads to be completed as soon as possible, we cannot move as fast as we would have wanted since the country has more pressing matters to deal with due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so funding is limited.”

Provincial roads engineer Atherton Zindoga said work on the Mutare-Nyanga Road had already begun.

He said they had prioritised the road owing to its significance to the tourism sector.

“The money released by Zinara is for routine maintenance and we have already started on a portion of the Mutare-Nyanga Road,” said Eng Zindoga.

He said funds for roads under the PSIP were yet to be released, but once they were received, roads such as the Birchenough-Murambinda and Nyanga-Ruwangwe would be repaired.

The development of the country’s road network is a key enabler to the envisaged economic activity that is expected to drive the attainment of an upper middle income economy by 2030. To this end, Government has been on a massive road rehabilitation and construction programme in all the provinces.