News / Local
Transporters call for rehabilitation of Mutare Masvingo Road
08 Jan 2016 at 08:03hrs | Views
Public transporters and motorists in Manicaland have called for the rehabilitation of the busy Mutare–Masvingo highway, which is now an eyesore particularly the stretch from Gudyanga Business Centre near Chipinge Turn-off to Devure Bridge, a few kilometres after Birchenough Bridge.
The poor state of the highway has been a major concern for the past decade on the busy highway, which is continuously being rundown and heavily patched with deep potholes which is now a serious cause for concern among transporters and the general public.
Tenda Buses proprietor Mr Earnest Mungwari, said the bad state of the Mutare-Masvingo highway was inflating the cost of doing business for transporters due to the increased wear and tear of vehicles due to the potholes.
"We need Government to consider our plight as public transporters and businesspeople when it comes to the bad state of our roads especially on the major highways.The potholes have severe wear and tear effects, which add to the costs of vehicle maintenance for us in the public transport sector, not leaving out endangering lives that we carry on the buses. In some cases, bus drivers are involved in head-on collisions trying to evade potholes. Something has to be quickly done to improve on our road infrastructure in Manicaland and countrywide in general, particularly on the major highways," said Mungwari.
Dangamvura Chikanga legislator Cde Isau Mupfumi said there was need for Government to push for the enactment of the Joint Ventures Bill expected to ease Build Operate and Transfer ventures in the country.
"The poor state of our roads countrywide has been a topical issue for the past decades, but given our catch-22 situation of limited fiscal space, little is being done to speed up the repair of all major highways.This is why I feel there is need to speed up the enactment of the Joint Ventures Bill, which is expected to pave way for Build Operate and Transfer deals in road infrastructure development in the country," said Mupfumi.
The poor state of the highway has been a major concern for the past decade on the busy highway, which is continuously being rundown and heavily patched with deep potholes which is now a serious cause for concern among transporters and the general public.
Tenda Buses proprietor Mr Earnest Mungwari, said the bad state of the Mutare-Masvingo highway was inflating the cost of doing business for transporters due to the increased wear and tear of vehicles due to the potholes.
"We need Government to consider our plight as public transporters and businesspeople when it comes to the bad state of our roads especially on the major highways.The potholes have severe wear and tear effects, which add to the costs of vehicle maintenance for us in the public transport sector, not leaving out endangering lives that we carry on the buses. In some cases, bus drivers are involved in head-on collisions trying to evade potholes. Something has to be quickly done to improve on our road infrastructure in Manicaland and countrywide in general, particularly on the major highways," said Mungwari.
Dangamvura Chikanga legislator Cde Isau Mupfumi said there was need for Government to push for the enactment of the Joint Ventures Bill expected to ease Build Operate and Transfer ventures in the country.
"The poor state of our roads countrywide has been a topical issue for the past decades, but given our catch-22 situation of limited fiscal space, little is being done to speed up the repair of all major highways.This is why I feel there is need to speed up the enactment of the Joint Ventures Bill, which is expected to pave way for Build Operate and Transfer deals in road infrastructure development in the country," said Mupfumi.
Source - Manica Post
