Bulawayo roads in bad state, $2m needed

About 75% of Bulawayo City's road network is in poor condition and the local authority needs $2 million for rehabilitation.

According to a roads assessment report compiled by the council's environmental, management and engineering services committee, the rehabilitation exercise might take three years to complete.

Under the programme set to begin in July, a maximum of 50km of access roads per ward, depending on their condition, would be re-gravelled, surfaced or reconstructed.


Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Obert Mpofu says roads in Bulawayo's low and high density suburbs will be rehabilitated in due course. The minister said this during the National Assembly's question and answer session on Wednesday as he assured MPs that all roads in Zimbabwe would be resurfaced eventually.

Mpofu explained the government's position on the repair of roads in Bulawayo after MDC-T Bulawayo Central legislator Dorcas Sibanda had said only roads in the city centre were being repaired.

She asked if there are any government plans to attend to roads leading to Queens Park, North End, Pumula, Nkulumane, among other suburbs.

"As for Bulawayo, you might be aware that we have an arrangement with the City of Bulawayo to do the roads, that is resurfacing and rehabilitation of the road network in Bulawayo. A few weeks ago, we had the commissioning of that exercise with a private company called Bitumen World who are helping the city to develop and seal potholes in the City of Bulawayo, including the roads that we are talking about," said Mpofu.

"I can assure you that the roads that you pointed out are part of that programme. So, we are happy with the development as you alluded to. All roads are going to be dealt with; all potholes will also be dealt with. We are conscious of that concern and we are doing something about it."

Recently, the minister launched the national pothole patching project that has seen the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara), local authorities and Bitumen World, working on fixing the country's roads in a development that is line with the country's economic blue-print ZimAsset.

The government has prioritised rehabilitation of roads as part of enhancing infrastructural development, which is key to economic development.