Potholes develop at Egodini terminus

THE recently-opened and hyped Egodini terminus' tarmac has seen potholes emerging, exposing poor workmanship by the contractor.

 Residents have since raised alarm on the deteriorating infrastructure describing the work done as fake and temporary when it was expected to meet international standards.

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association chairperson, Thembelani Dube, said they are saddened by the poor state of the tarmac at the terminus.

 "If the substandard work is what is obtained, as residents we are very disappointed. After almost a decade residents expect state-of-the-art infrastructure and thorough workmanship matching the anticipated transport mall," Dube said.

Bulawayo Mayor, David Coltart told Southern Eye that he has received reports on the concerns and has since contacted the contractor.

"I am aware of that and  have alerted the contractor concerning the slowly degrading road network around the taxi rank area. I will give out the full report once the matter is sorted out," Coltart said.

Terracotta director Thulani Moyo, whose company was contracted to construct the terminus, was not answering calls yesterday.

Last month, BCC opened the first phase of Egodini Mall which has a taxi rank and informal trading stalls.

The local authority in 2012 contracted Terracota to redesign Basch Street terminus, known as Egodini and turn it into a multi-purpose mall under a build, operate and transfer arrangement.

The company projected a total investment of US$60 million for the project.

However, the project has taken almost 11 years to complete since the tender was awarded to the firm, with residents unimpressed by the slow pace at the project site.

The company failed to meet deadlines amid complaints and calls by the residents for the council to cancel the contract and re-tender the project.