Opinion / Columnist
The deplorable state of Zim roads makes driving a nightmare
07 Jan 2015 at 14:45hrs | Views
Someone is dangerously napping on duty as citizens and motorists are sinking in the muddy and callous gorges that have become a permanent feature on our roads. The precedence set by Zanu-PF through exorcism of rogue elements, should be repeated with more vigour at Harare City Council and the Zimbabwe National Road Authorities (ZINARA).
As a nation we cannot afford to recycle dead wood whose mismanagement is as visible as the state of the roads in Zimbabwe. The deplorable state of the roads makes driving a nightmare to motorists and increases the risks of road carnage. The rough edges and deep potholes damage tyres and other essential vehicle suspension components which often lead to fatal accidents.
To then think someone is waking up daily to manage the roads, which are similar to those found in war torn countries, lurches the heart.
A shake up at the roads authority is long overdue as those in charge are dicing with public funds through elicit dealings and gross corporate mismanagement. It is testimonial that there is no communication between the work force of ZINARA and the board.
The recent revelations that the Harare International Airport road construction costs have climbed down by a whooping US$20 million from the previously quoted US$80 million is indexical to deep rooted corruption. It then ponders the mind whether there are qualified personnel running ZINARA. Literally the authority is operating on a free fall mode.
Cheap material and shoddy contracts that characterise the state parastatal reflect on the laxity to conduct business transparently in a bid to create loopholes for the purposes of abusing funds. The G5 contracted by ZINARA is busy unearthing strong tarred road replacing it with cheap material that has seen the Samora Machel Avenue in Harare peeling off barely a month after it was ‘rehabilitated'.
Heads definitely have to roll to justify contributions by stakeholders to the maintenance of the roads. People are paying at the tollgates only to be short changed by mismanagement of these authorities. Amid such heinous misappropriation of public funds, 32 more tollgates are on the cards for Zimbabwe.
There is nothing wrong with people paying for services which benefit them; but if it is not yielding expectations on the ground, the results are cancerous. The city authorities are failing to persuade residents to own up to their arrears owing to poor service delivery and misappropriation of funds. The City Council of Harare has of late become desperate to the extent of summoning each resident to court over arrears.
Given the state of water, refuse collection and bad roads it won't need a good lawyer for most of the residents to successfully sue the fat cats at Harare Town House.
The anti corruption drive should be geared up in conjunction with the disposal of inconsistent and incompetent elements that continue to dog service delivery in Harare City Council and ZINARA. Zimbabwe needs future oriented business leaders with people's welfare at heart.
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Caitlin Kamba can be contacted at caitlinkamba@gmail.com
Source - Caitlin Kamba
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