Senator
Nonhlanhla
Mlotshwa,
from
Matabeleland
South,
raised
the
concerns
during
a
recent
sitting
of
the
Senate,
warning
that
already
fragile
infrastructure
had
deteriorated
further,
leaving
some
communities
isolated
from
schools,
clinics
and
markets.
“In
light
of
the
ongoing
rains,
which
have
once
again
exposed
the
poor
state
of
our
roads
and
bridges
infrastructure,
particularly
in
rural
and
peri-urban
areas,
where
communities
have
been
cut
off
from
schools,
clinics
and
markets,
can
the
minister
inform
this
House
what
immediate
and
short-term
measures
the
Government
is
implementing?”
she
asked.
She
also
sought
clarity
on
how
preparedness
for
seasonal
rains
is
being
integrated
into
road
design,
maintenance
and
budgeting.
Responding,
the
Minister
of
Ministry
of
Transport
and
Infrastructural
Development,
Felix
Mhona,
acknowledged
that
the
rains
had
caused
widespread
damage
and
said
the
government
was
relying
on
the
Emergency
Road
Rehabilitation
Programme
II
(ERRP2)
as
a
key
intervention.
He
told
senators
that
the
programme,
introduced
through
Statutory
Instrument
47
of
2021
and
extended
to
December
31,
2026,
was
designed
to
address
roads
in
a
“sorry
state”.
“Yes,
we
thank
the
Almighty
for
the
rains
but,
in
terms
of
our
infrastructure,
it
has
been
damaged,”
Mhona
said.
He
said
most
rural
roads
fall
under
Rural
District
Councils
or
the
Rural
Infrastructure
Development
Agency
(formerly
the
District
Development
Fund),
while
urban
roads
are
managed
by
local
authorities.
Mhona
said
the
ministry
was
adopting
a
“holistic
approach”
to
road
rehabilitation
and
would
soon
commission
two
asphalt
plants,
one
in
Harare
and
another
in
Bulawayo,
to
speed
up
pothole
patching
and
maintenance.
“In
two
weeks’
time
we
are
going
to
be
commissioning
an
asphalt
plant.
The
asphalt
plant
provides
bituminous
products
so
we
can
address
road
pothole
patching
quickly,”
he
said.
He
added
that
the
ministry
was
working
with
local
authorities
to
make
roads
trafficable
and
was
assisting
councils
with
fuel
so
they
could
draw
on
the
Zimbabwe
National
Road
Administration
(ZINARA)
Fund
to
operate
their
plants.
Mhona
said
ZINARA
was
also
supporting
councils
to
procure
additional
equipment,
while
communities
were
being
encouraged
to
partner
with
government
in
maintaining
roads.
“Our
road
network
stretches
close
to
90
000
kilometres
and
there
is
no
way
we
can
administer
those
roads
at
once.
Therefore,
I
call
on
the
people
of
Zimbabwe
to
exercise
patience,”
he
said.
However,
Senator
Mlotshwa
pressed
the
minister
on
how
many
roads
and
bridges
nationwide
had
been
rendered
impassable
by
the
rains.
Minister
Mhona
said
he
could
not
immediately
provide
precise
figures
and
requested
that
the
question
be
submitted
in
writing
so
that
a
detailed
response
could
be
prepared.