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Freedom Mupanedemo
Midlands Bureau
Government under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme has embarked on massive roads rehabilitation programme in Kwekwe targeting the major roads that link the city and its suburbs.

The Second Republic took over the rehabilitation of roads in all local authorities after some roads had  become impassable owing to years of neglect under opposition MDC run councils. Midlands Provincial Roads Engineer, Denis Mupfurira said road works had already started. He said they were targeting six major roads with a combined 80km stretch.

“We have started with Mbizo road which is the busiest in the city. It was in bad shape and we are resurfacing most parts while patching is being done on areas where there are some potholes,” he said.

Kwekwe City’s acting Town Clerk Dr Lucis Mkhandla commended the move by Government which she said was timeous.  She said the local authority was working with the Government in identifying the roads which were in bad shape and needed urgent attention.

“We are grateful that the Government is rehabilitating roads under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme. The exercise is timeous and the target is to make sure that these roads are  spruced up and upgraded before the onset of the rains,” she said.

These include Mbizo, Amaveni, Kaku, Rail and Kaguvi roads.

She said the city was also complementing the Government roads programme by working on the drainage systems to avoid flooding.

“We are moving towards a modern city in line with the Vision 2030 and we can only achieve that when we have an improved road infrastructure. To avoid flooding we are also clearing drains to allow free-flow during the rainy season,” she said.

The new Government administration has been prioritising developmental projects with devolution funds changing the face of many local authorities as major developmental projects are taking place.

So far, local authorities in the Midlands province have received a total of 288 million as devolution funds this year.