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Obert Chifamba Manicaland Bureau Chief

MUTARE City Council has received $2,2 million for periodic and routine maintenance of roads from the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA), an official has revealed.

Mutare City Council public relations officer Mr Spren Mutiwi told The Herald that the money would cater for 18 kilometres of road.

“We have already used $461 000 for pothole patching and another $103 000 for other separate road works. The remaining amount will be used for periodic resealing of tarred roads and the gravelling of six kilometres of roads especially Jeff Road and the Hobhouse link road. We are also going to upgrade the city’s existing eight sets of traffic lights using that fund,” said Mr Mutiwi.

He added that 70 percent of the city’s road rehabilitation programmes had been accomplished in 2017 and the current works were a spillover from last year.

The last road maintenance programme was funded to the tune of $1,3m under ZINARA’s Emergency Roads Rehabilitation Programme.

“We are resuming the road rehabilitation programmes today after they had been temporarily shelved on account of bad weather. The contractor said he could not work under the wintry conditions that we are just emerging from,” said Mr Mutiwi.

He said everything was in place for the resumption of the programme adding that 3,8 kilometres would be tarred along Jeff Road while Magamba Road would see a stretch of 1,8km getting tarred too. Blessing Makunike Road would also have 2,5km upgraded from gravel to tar, he added.

The city’s road network has been in a very bad state due to lack of proper maintenance owing to lack of funding.

Mr Mutiwi said the current road works would help the city regain its past glory and boost business or social travel, as movement would be greatly enhanced.