The Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, has indicated that the 158-kilometre Bulawayo-Nkayi Road upgrade is a top priority among major infrastructure projects championed by the government in Matabeleland North. This is to be conducted by the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA).
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He admitted that the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road upgrade project, which began in 1993 and was supposed to be finished in 1999, went considerably longer than anticipated.
Only around 50 kilometres of the road have been extended and paved over the years. The route between Turk Mine and the Inyathi area in Bubi District to the Nkayi Centre is still incomplete.
President Mnangagwa’s Second Republic has prioritised the rehabilitation of important roadways around the country, including Nkayi Road. In a recent interview in Bulawayo, Prof Ncube claimed that the government was committed to expediting the construction of the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road and that locals’ concerns were valid.
“We have roads such as the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road, which are on the programme for an upgrade, and we will ensure work is sped up given that some of these projects have taken too long to complete,” said Minister Ncube.
He indicated that the rehabilitation work was going, but not rapidly enough, and that this was due to resource constraints created by competing priorities. He also claimed that several other rural feeder roads, like the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road, were bad and would be restored.
As a temporary fix, the government has been grading and filling potholes on the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road since August, after heavy rains damaged it during the previous agricultural season. The project is being carried out as part of the Emergency Roads Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP).
The repair has brought comfort to motorists and commuters who had complained that the road had deteriorated to the point that they were in danger of accidents and had to spend more money on auto maintenance.
