Bulawayo-Nkayi road in deplorable state

The state of Bulawayo-Nkayi road has deteriorated drastically making it difficult for local business people to have their goods delivered smoothly.

The road has become so bad that motorists spend the greater part of their journey negotiating their way around the potholes that seem to have become a permanent feature on the highway.

While the 158 kilometre journey would take less than two hours under normal circumstances, the situation with Bulawayo-Nkayi highway is that motorists spend well over three hours travelling.

The chairperson of the Nkayi Business Association Mr Maploti Donga says the poor state of the road has resulted in some suppliers in Bulawayo refusing to deliver goods to the district, and the local business community has been forced to resort to more expensive alternatives.

"It's really bad because we have had some instances where people have been stuck and perishable goods have gone bad. Motorists have frequent breakdowns and we are making losses since the cheapest transporters of goods are now refusing to travel to Nkayi," said Mr Donga.

According to Nkayi Rural District Council chief executive officer Mr Zimbabwe Ndlovu, the local authority is making efforts to fill the potholes but the greater part of the work can only be done after the rain season.

"The road is bad it has also been worsened by the incessant rains. However, the road maintenance is a continuous process though we have some constraints, like the issue of the funding itself and the rains are still continuing so it's still a challenge to work on the road," he said.

The government has on numerous occasions announced that it is working on the rehabilitation of the Bulawayo-Nkayi highway to open up trade opportunities between the city, Nkayi and Gokwe but nothing has improved so far.