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Fungai Lupande Mashonaland Central Bureau
The coming in of the new dispensation has resulted in the construction and upgrading of roads in Mashonaland Central Province, with most of the targeted roads now complete.

One of the notable projects that have been undertaken in the province is the construction of the 27km Shamva-Bindura Road, which had been on the cards for the past 26 years.

The road took only a year to complete.

Minister of State for Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs Monica Mavhunga said most roads in the province were “either complete or almost complete.”

She applauded Government for the urgency in road construction and commended local authorities and the District Development Fund for the maintenance of feeder roads.

“Mt Darwin-Mukumbura Road was long overdue,” she said.

“We had targeted 16 kilometres and 12,8km are complete. Progress on that road is now at 78 percent. The Mahuhwe-Kanyemba Road was among our priority roads and I am happy that out of the targeted 10km, 5,5km are complete. The Roads Department is now working on resurfacing a further stretch of 1,5km.”

Minister Mavhunga emphasised the need for a good road network to Kanyemba, especially with the massive development happening in that area.

“Construction of the road will assist in connecting Zimbabwe with Mozambique and Zambia,” she said.

“This will improve bilateral ties and trade between the three countries.

“A pontoon has already been constructed in Kanyemba. For vehicles to reach that area, there is need for good roads.”

The other major road that is being worked on is the Bindura-Matepatepa Road, which leads to resettlement areas where a number of farmers were struggling to ferry their produce to the Grain Marketing Board and the market due to the bad state of the road.

Of the targeted 10km, 3km are complete.

“Although progress is still at 36 percent, this is a positive development for the farming community of Matepatepa who were also failing to receive agriculture inputs due to the inaccessibility of the roads,” said Minister Mavhunga.

Some roads like Bindura-Mt Darwin, Bindura-Mt Darwin-Mukumbura and Bindura-Manhenga are complete.

Pembi Bridge and a kilometre stretch leading to the bridge were also completed.

At least 8km were completed out of 10km of the Dotito-St Albert’s Road, while 11km were completed on the Harare-Bindura Road.

Minister Mavhunga said there were major developments in the construction of dams such as Semwa Dam in Mt Darwin, Silverstone and Bindura Dams.

She advised farmers to prioritise planting small grains to mitigate against the unpredictable weather conditions that are increasingly witnessing low rainfall.