Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart says the city needs at least US$15 million annually to maintain its roads, but is receiving far less from the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA).
ZINARA collects fuel levies, vehicle registration and licensing fees and road tolls, and pays them into a Road Fund which it administers under the Roads Act. It allocates money from the Road Fund to local authorities to finance the maintenance of the roads for which the road authorities are responsible.
Speaking during a full council meeting on 6 August, Coltart warned that the funding gap was worsening the state of the city’s road network and putting lives at risk.
“In 2024, ZINARA disbursed only ZIG$2 million for Bulawayo’s roads. Road maintenance is mainly payable in foreign currency, and what we are receiving is inadequate,” he said.
Coltart urged ZINARA to prioritise major arteries such as Steeldale, Khami and Victoria Falls roads. He also highlighted the city’s poor drainage system, which he said was reducing the lifespan of roads, and called for speed humps at known accident blackspots.
His remarks came as councillors voiced growing frustration over the poor state of roads across the city, despite residents paying a special road levy intended for rehabilitation works.
Ward 3 councillor Mxolisi Mahlangu said Newton West had “the worst road network in the city,” adding that residents wanted to see the road levy put to use.
“Every resident needs a road to go about their business. The current state of roads shows we are failing on service delivery. Councillors’ performance is measured on this,” he said.
Concerns over road safety dominated the meeting. Ward 7 councillor Thandiwe Moyo said accidents involving pedestrians had increased, citing the death of an Early Childhood Development pupil on Luveve Road.
“There is an urgent need for speed humps,” she said.
Ward 11 councillor Susan Sithole added that “there is an accident or a near miss every day” outside Emakhandeni Primary School and along the road to Cowdray Park.
Other councillors urged fair distribution of road levy funds beyond the city centre.
Ward 10 councillor Khalazani Ndlovu said several intersections, including Khami Road and Nketa Drive, were hazardous and needed urgent attention.
Deputy mayor Edwin Ndlovu noted that in some suburbs, residents had begun erecting their own speed humps out of desperation, while street lighting remained a serious challenge.
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