News / Local
Joshua Nkomo's name erased from Harare Airport Road
27 Nov 2015 at 06:37hrs | Views
IT WAS meant to be a highway modernised in honour of the late Father Zimbabwe, but a mixup by Transport and Infrastructure Ministry officials saw an upgraded road being unveiled as the Harare International Airport Road, instead of its official name: Joshua Nkomo Expressway in the capital.
President Robert Mugabe officially opened the road that leads to the Harare International Airport on Wednesday, but an embarrassing mistake by officials resulted in the commemorative plaque identifying it as Harare International Airport Road.
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joram Gumbo yesterday told The Chronicle that the road's official name was "Joshua Nkomo Road", but when asked why it had been identified as Harare International Airport Road, he replied: "It will be sorted out. I'll talk to the guys who do the writing and they will call you."
Former Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda said the Harare City Council was the first to moot the idea to name the road after the late Vice President.
"What I can tell you is that officially, that road is called Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo. It was previously Queensway after the Queen that's why you have the suburb Queensdale nearby. It later became Airport Road before it was named Joshua Nkomo. When I left council in 2013, nothing had changed. That's its official name."
The website of the Zimbabwe National Road Authority (Zinara) which took over the construction of the road in 2013 also identifies it by its official name in honour of the late Vice President
Zinara came on board after Augur investments that had entered into a deal with the Harare City Council to dualise, extend and develop the road into a highway with complex high rise motorways and road and rail subways, struggled to finish the job.
Augur investments was supposed to ensure that the 15-kilometre road went from the Harare International Airport to Dieppe Road in Braeside suburb, before being extended up to the intersection of Robert Mugabe Road and Enterprise Road in the city.
The company was supposed to build two complex bridges over the Harare-Mutare railway line, which will be reduced to a rail subway, after which the raised motorway would drop into Enterprise Road.
President Robert Mugabe officially opened the road that leads to the Harare International Airport on Wednesday, but an embarrassing mistake by officials resulted in the commemorative plaque identifying it as Harare International Airport Road.
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joram Gumbo yesterday told The Chronicle that the road's official name was "Joshua Nkomo Road", but when asked why it had been identified as Harare International Airport Road, he replied: "It will be sorted out. I'll talk to the guys who do the writing and they will call you."
Former Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda said the Harare City Council was the first to moot the idea to name the road after the late Vice President.
"What I can tell you is that officially, that road is called Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo. It was previously Queensway after the Queen that's why you have the suburb Queensdale nearby. It later became Airport Road before it was named Joshua Nkomo. When I left council in 2013, nothing had changed. That's its official name."
The website of the Zimbabwe National Road Authority (Zinara) which took over the construction of the road in 2013 also identifies it by its official name in honour of the late Vice President
Zinara came on board after Augur investments that had entered into a deal with the Harare City Council to dualise, extend and develop the road into a highway with complex high rise motorways and road and rail subways, struggled to finish the job.
Augur investments was supposed to ensure that the 15-kilometre road went from the Harare International Airport to Dieppe Road in Braeside suburb, before being extended up to the intersection of Robert Mugabe Road and Enterprise Road in the city.
The company was supposed to build two complex bridges over the Harare-Mutare railway line, which will be reduced to a rail subway, after which the raised motorway would drop into Enterprise Road.
Source - chronicle
