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Fungai Lupande Mash Central Bureau

A TENDER for the construction of an additional 10km of the Mahuhwe-Kanyemba Road has been awarded by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development.

Work will now restart, a year after it was delayed due to Covid-19. 

Mbire legislator Cde Douglas Karoro said 10km of the road were already built and tarred and construction of the additional 10km will start after the rainy season. 

He hope the next Mahuhwe-Mushumbi stretch would be done soon after. 

“We are excited as Mbire district for an allocation of an additional 10km by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development,” said Cde Karoro. “This will bring the total number of tarred kilometres to 20km. 

“Road construction companies submitted their bids two weeks ago. This road is giving motorists a torrid time, especially during the rainy season. 

“Small vehicles cannot reach Mushumbi Shopping Centre during the rainy season. We are appealing for another 10km to be tarred as soon as possible. This will leave only 10km to Mushumbi without a tarred road.” 

The Mahuhwe-Mushumbi Road is the route to Chitsungo Hospital. 

“We heard that contractors will be awarded the Mushumbi-Kanyemba Road and we are appealing to the Ministry of Transport to expedite the process,” said Cde Karoro. 

“The development of Kanyemba is now the attraction of the province as the Government moves to establish a town along the Zambezi waterfront.” 

Cde Karoro said Kanyemba was set to boost the value of the province and strengthen the devolution agenda. 

Already, the landing bay at the Zambezi River is complete and the 6km road has been completed. 

Construction of the Mahuhwe-Kanyemba Road, which is critical for development of Kanyemba, had stopped at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and road construction machinery was taken off site. 

Cde Karoro wants work on the road to start soon so that Mbire district, which is argued to be one of the least developed districts in Zimbabwe, can pace up development. 

He said the Muzarabani-Mahuhwe Road, which connects Muzarabani and Mbire, was also in bad shape, despite being critical in the transportation of agricultural commodities. 

The cotton grown in Mbire is processed in Muzarabani where there is a                                ginnery. 

The other roads in need of rehabilitation are the Chidodo-Mahuhwe and Mushumbi-Chifaka roads connecting the district to the border with Mozambique.