By Tatenda Dewa | Harare Bureau |
The Transport ministry has budgeted in excess of $500,000 to resurface a road leading from the capital to President Robert Mugabe’s rural home in Zvimba.
The 60km stretch from Norton to Zvimba, local independent media reports indicate, will be upgraded using funds collected by the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA).
The administration falls under the Transport ministry and its board is chaired by Albert Mugabe, a close relative of the president.
Zvimba Rural District Council chief executive officer, Peter Hlohla, told the daily Newsday that his local authority was not directly responsible for the resurfacing of the road.
“That is a national road. It is being it is being resurfaced by the ministry of Transport using Zinara funds. As Zvimba Rural District Council, we are not involved in that project,” he said.
The road was last upgraded in 2010.
As the Zvimba road gets a facelift, most rural and urban road networks in Zimbabwe are in a poor state and have been blamed for contributing to fatal accidents.
Parliament recently bemoaned that national highways that were resurfaced recently had started developing problems, amid fears that contracted companies did not do their work properly.
Government has indicated that about 30 percent of the country’s roads require urgent attention.
Vice President Mnangagwa in 2015 indicated that government was intending to turn the Norton-Zvimba road into a national monument as the ruling Zanu PF grovels to turn Mugabe into a living legend.
Recently, Mugabe received rebuke from citizens and critics when he commissioned a giant statue of himself that was set up at State House.
Most of the people agreed the statue is ugly and queried why it was installed at State House when the president, now 92, can leave office any time.
Plans are also under way to build a modern city and a university in Zvimba to honour Mugabe. Nehanda Radio
