Kwekwe City Council in Zimbabwe is looking to raise US $45m to rehabilitate its road network, which was extensively damaged by heavy rains being experienced in most parts of the country.
According to Acting town clerk, Dr Lucia Mkhandla, the immediate concern is the repairing of major roads in the city spanning 70km, which requires about US $10m. “For now we have been carrying out some interventions including resealing, reconstruction, re-gravelling, pothole patching and installation as well as the maintenance of storm water drains,” she said.
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Raising rehabilitation funds
The town clerk further added that the local authority introduced a 2% roads levy last year, which has been helping to raise the money required to rehabilitate the roads. “The 2% contribution from rates has had a big impact to date because it is the one which was used in 2020 to patch all potholes in the CBD,” she said.
Late last year, the government turned down a request from the council to review the road fund as the current allocated amount was not adequate to resurface the city’s road network. The government insisted that the council must find ways to raise funds to cover any deficit.
Road networks have collapsed following heavy rains that are being experienced across the country. Most of the city’s major roads have become an eyesore due to potholes but the situation is worse for feeder roads leading to residential areas. While council has tried to renovate major roads, the feeder roads appear to have been neglected for years. Kwekwe City has a road network that spans 315km.
