Underfire Bulawayo City Council (BCC) says the government is yet to release more funds for the rehabilitation of the city’s road network under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme phase 2.
According to the latest council minutes, an allocation of ZWL625 549 822.14 was approved to fund the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme phase 2.
Speaking during a full council meeting, Wednesday, city mayor councillor Solomon Mguni implored the Environmental Management and Engineering Services Committee to make a follow up on the funds and resume road works.
The roads around the city are in a dilapidated state and residents have been up in arms with the council over ineffective maintenance of roads.
Chairperson of the Committee Alderman Siboniso Khumalo said their hands are tied in terms of approaching the government directly so in the meantime the council would use the resources they have at hand.
The minutes read that the Acting Director of Engineering Services reported on January 14, 2022, that under the ERRP2, ZINARA disbursed ZWL116,543,217.
“The Acting Director of Engineering Services reported on January 14, 2022, that under the ERRP2, ZINARA disbursed the ZWL116,543,217 (One hundred and sixteen, five hundred and Forty three thousand, two hundred and seventeen Zimbabwe dollars). The final approved total allocation for the ERRP2 was ZWL625,549,822.14,” the minutes read.
“All the allocation had been committed and the Contractors are on the ground. The advance funds were being used in the procurement of materials to produce cold mix, hot mix, road line paint and to cover batching fees for pothole patching and overlay works using the Council’s in-house teams.”
