Bulawayo-Gwanda Road now death trap

THE Bulawayo-Gwanda Highway, which connects Zimbabwe with her neighbours, has become a death trap for motorists as it has been littered with potholes.

The Transport and Infrastructure Development ministry recentlysaidithasstarted"temporarily" repairing the Bulawayo-Gwanda-Beitbridge Highway using hard soil to patch potholes, but motorists said this was inadequate.

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association chairperson Ambrose Sibindi said the road was one of the busiest in the country and urgent intervention was needed.

"That road is one of the busiest roads and there is a tollgate just a few kilometres out of town and judging by the flow of traffic, both private small vehicles and haulage trucks, a lot of revenue is generated from the tollgate and citizens expect that money raised should be used to repair that road," Sibindi said.

In 2017, 14 people died along the Bulawayo-Gwanda Road when a vehicle they were travelling in collided with a South African-registered haulage truck that had hit a pothole and veered of its lane.

Bulawayo United Residents Association chairperson Winos Dube said road infrastructure development deserved utmost attention.

"All roads starting from city centres going wherever are an eyesore with potholes," Dube said.

"With such roads in our country it will be very difficult to have meaningful development, let alone attracting any investment. Road network is key for any progressive community."

Gwanda-Bulawayo Road is a transit route for private motorists and others transporting goods from Beitbridge, Gwanda, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Zambia, Mozambique all the way up to the Democratic Republic of Congo.