Shurugwi-Boterekwa Road set for dualisation

BOTEREKWA Road in the mining town of Shurugwi is set to be dualised to facilitate easy movement of trucks that pass through the escarpment.

Midlands Provincial Affairs minister Larry Mavima last week said the project was meant to minimise traffic accidents on the sloppy terrain.

He said there was a likelihood of an increase in economic activity in the province after dualisation of Boterekwa road.

"Dualisation of Boterekwa road clearly shows government's commitment to build roads that are up to Southern African Development Community (Sadc) standards," Mavima said.

"The road can be used by huge trucks and large volumes of trucks to ferry goods from South Africa up to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Dualisation will also eliminate numerous accidents that happen as a result of the narrowness of the road. Once this is achieved in the shortest possible time, it will, indeed, increase the gross domestic product of the province and that of the country as a whole."

Last year, part of the road collapsed as a result of illegal mining activities in the mineral-rich town.

"We will soon sit as JOC [Joint Operations Command] to determine how best we will eliminate this problem. We want to warn all those who are into illegal mining that if you damage government infrastructure, we will come after you. It doesn't matter who you are or who supports you, we are not here to destroy the legacy or the future of our children and the future of this country," Mavima said.

Over the years, the Environmental Management Agency has encountered hurdles in dealing with the illegal miners, particularly in the Midlands province.

The miners, some of whom are backed by politicians who benefit from the illegal mining activities, have left a lot of environmental degradation.