News / National
$2,1 billion needed for roads rehab- Minister
11 Apr 2017 at 06:50hrs | Views
THE minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Jorum Gumbo has said $2,1 billion is needed for the rehabiliation of roads in the country as the road carnage still rocks the country due to the bad state of roads.
Speaking to senators in parliament Gumbo said as a nation, they are very much grieved by the accident which occurred and we lost so many people.
"This is regardless of the condition of the road but what really hurts us as the Government of Zimbabwe is the deaths on such accidents. This really touches me since this problem is part of my purview and one of my jurisdictions," he said.
" I am talking of the road which is from Beitbridge to Chirundu, as I have told this august House before that we have sourced for a loan from a company which is prepared to help and to partner us and this company is called Geiger International from Austria. Geiger International is going to construct and repair this major highway and shortly we will be holding a groundbreaking ceremony. When you are coming from Masvingo near Chaka Growth Point, there is a river there and you will see that we have already started on some work there."
He said that is where they are going to do groundbreaking.
"We want to start the programme of constructing this road and it is a very busy road which is used by people who would be going to do business in South Africa. It is a main artery road which is very valid in our economic situation. As a result, we have divided the development project into six sectors and each sector will be given 100 kilometers long to work on that road. Because, we feel that if we give many companies, each one of them will be responsible for a particular potion, we can complete this job within two years. I am sorry about what happened," he said.
"The main problem which we were facing is that we did not have enough money to construct or repair these roads. Consequently, we have had to borrow money from outside. We borrowed an amount of $998 million which is nearly $1 billion and we are saying, we need to go to Chirundu and we are looking for a further $886 million which is another billion dollars. So, these are two billion dollars which are needed. Since we started working on our roads, we have never used such an amount and the amount which we need is $2.1billion dollars. We may not have that money as a nation but we have friends who are prepared to lend us that kind of money and we are very sympathetic to the people who passed on on our roads."
"On the other hand, we are begging Hon. Members to talk to the drivers in our constituencies and please, advise drivers to drive carefully on the roads because some of these accidents are caused by man fault. We have just launched a new Highway Code and it has been shown that 99% of our accidents are mainly caused by human error. These omnibus drivers should be aware that they are carrying valuable human lives on board, hence should avoid recklessness."
Speaking to senators in parliament Gumbo said as a nation, they are very much grieved by the accident which occurred and we lost so many people.
"This is regardless of the condition of the road but what really hurts us as the Government of Zimbabwe is the deaths on such accidents. This really touches me since this problem is part of my purview and one of my jurisdictions," he said.
" I am talking of the road which is from Beitbridge to Chirundu, as I have told this august House before that we have sourced for a loan from a company which is prepared to help and to partner us and this company is called Geiger International from Austria. Geiger International is going to construct and repair this major highway and shortly we will be holding a groundbreaking ceremony. When you are coming from Masvingo near Chaka Growth Point, there is a river there and you will see that we have already started on some work there."
He said that is where they are going to do groundbreaking.
"We want to start the programme of constructing this road and it is a very busy road which is used by people who would be going to do business in South Africa. It is a main artery road which is very valid in our economic situation. As a result, we have divided the development project into six sectors and each sector will be given 100 kilometers long to work on that road. Because, we feel that if we give many companies, each one of them will be responsible for a particular potion, we can complete this job within two years. I am sorry about what happened," he said.
"The main problem which we were facing is that we did not have enough money to construct or repair these roads. Consequently, we have had to borrow money from outside. We borrowed an amount of $998 million which is nearly $1 billion and we are saying, we need to go to Chirundu and we are looking for a further $886 million which is another billion dollars. So, these are two billion dollars which are needed. Since we started working on our roads, we have never used such an amount and the amount which we need is $2.1billion dollars. We may not have that money as a nation but we have friends who are prepared to lend us that kind of money and we are very sympathetic to the people who passed on on our roads."
"On the other hand, we are begging Hon. Members to talk to the drivers in our constituencies and please, advise drivers to drive carefully on the roads because some of these accidents are caused by man fault. We have just launched a new Highway Code and it has been shown that 99% of our accidents are mainly caused by human error. These omnibus drivers should be aware that they are carrying valuable human lives on board, hence should avoid recklessness."
Source - Byo24News
