Harare’s ‘craters’ take toll on motorists

By Daniel Kachere

Motorists in Harare have expressed concern over the state of the city’s roads that have deteriorated, especially during this rainy season.
The situation is so bad some sections of certain roads have become impassable.
Huge “craters” are giving motorists a torrid time as they try to negotiate their way to various destinations within the city.
Nhau drove around various roads that lead in and out of the central business district and observed huge potholes along major roads – disturbing traffic flow even as there are fewer vehicles on the roads due to the strict lockdown.
In some of the roads the potholes have become a danger to motorists, causing tyre punctures and accidents as drivers try to maneuvre around them.
Nhau came across “volunteers”, who have seen it prudent to chip in and assist authorities by covering the potholes with brick and mortar, a method which is discouraged by the authorities.
This has inevitably created illegal “toll gates” on the roads as the “volunteers” demand payment from motorists.
Motorists are also incurring unnecessary expenses after their vehicle suspensions are damaged by the ditches that are now a common sight everywhere.
Acting City of Harare spokesperson Innocent Ruwende said the city had no capacity at the moment to deal with the problem.
Ruwende said the funds they get from the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) were not enough as the roads within the city now require complete reconstruction not rehabilitation.
“Yes, we get funds but the money is not enough. It is a drop in the ocean. Most of the roads now require reconstruction. We don’t have the funds. The $46 million we had for roads was garnished by Zimra,” he said.
Zinara spokesperson Tendai Mugabe told Nhau that council should utilise other channels of funding.
“We are appealing to them to refurbish the road network by way of coming up with private arrangements like PPPs (Public-Private Partnerships) with private investors.
“Zinara disbursements should complement what they are doing. We understand that, especially in the case of City of Harare, they have a treasury grant they got from Government. We also understand that they have devolution funds that they are getting from Government. It would be good to utilise that funding to rehabilitate the roads,” Mugabe said.
Mugabe said the country’s roads had been neglected for a very long time.
“The road infrastructure in this country was neglected for a very long time and the damage caused to the infrastructure now requires a lot of funding. The money we are collecting at present is not enough to cover all the work that we require to do.” Nhau/Indaba