Residents of Pumula suburb in Bulawayo have welcomed the rehabilitation of two major roads funded by Chinese-owned Hualin Quarry Mine but fear delays by the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) could undermine the project and increase costs for the company.
Under its corporate social responsibility programme, Hualin is funding the rehabilitation of sections of Ngena and Mqabuko roads by supplying construction materials and financing specialised road works, while the city council is responsible for providing labour.
However, residents say the slow pace of council’s work is delaying completion despite the company having fulfilled its commitments.
The project marks a significant breakthrough for a community that has spent years grappling with deteriorating roads that damaged vehicles, disrupted businesses, delayed emergency services and forced commuter omnibuses to abandon some routes.
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Many residents believe the rehabilitation represents more than improved infrastructure as it demonstrates how partnerships between communities and the private sector can deliver tangible development where years of appeals to public authorities have produced little progress.
The project has also transformed perceptions of Hualin within Ward 17.
When the company first began operating in the area, many residents were apprehensive about the impact of its mining activities. However, years of engagement between the company, community leaders and residents have gradually built trust, with Hualin supporting schools, churches, youth programmes, informal traders, water projects and now road infrastructure.
Ward 17 councillor Sikhululekile Moyo said the company’s willingness to continuously engage residents had helped build trust.
“This company has risen to the occasion and has helped us with so much over the years,” the councillor said.
“They have demonstrated that a company can operate within a community and give back in a manner that the general public can benefit. Of course at first we had reservations and fears about their operations but through repeated engagements and constructive dialogue, we have managed to get great assistance from them.”
Cllr Moyo said the company’s community investment had extended beyond road rehabilitation, benefiting schools, churches, schoolchildren, youths and local businesses while encouraging other mining companies operating in the ward to also embrace community development initiatives.
“Hualin has become a trendsetter. Through the projects they have implemented, other mining companies are now also coming on board with different ways of giving back to the community.”
For the current project, Hualin has supplied 38 tonnes of quarry dust, 5.5 tonnes each of 7mm and 13mm aggregate, 30 drums of bitumen and is paying for the hot mix batching plant, whose charges are calculated hourly, all amounting to US$10 872.
Company manager, Brighton Dube, said supporting surrounding communities remains central to Hualin’s operations.
“We have been working closely with the community for years now and we try to support them to the best of our ability,” he said.
“These projects fall under our CSR programme. We have done various projects in the community and for as long as we are operational here, we will continue supporting the community.”
For residents who have long complained about the deplorable roads, the long-stalled project has revived a ray of hope that their roads may become passable again.
Ward 17 Ward Development Committee chairperson, Trust Mkhwananzi, said the project had brought hope to a community that had almost given up on seeing improvements to its roads.
“Most of our roads here in Pumula have been in a deplorable state for many years now. We have tried to engage the city council but with not much luck. Motorists have been struggling to move around, with some public transport operators choosing not to ply some routes because of the state of the roads.”
“What Hualin has done for us, not many companies could have done. We are grateful that they stepped in at a time when the situation had become dire. Although we had our reservations at the beginning, this company has demonstrated that businesses operating within communities can work hand in hand with residents to improve lives.”
The road rehabilitation is also fulfilling commitments first discussed nearly three years ago.
In 2023, Hualin, community leaders and BCC agreed to develop a CSR implementation framework that included rehabilitating Ngena Road while addressing concerns around the mine’s environmental and social impact.
At the time, Cllr Moyo warned that delays in implementing the agreement could result in the community losing valuable development opportunities before mining activities concluded.
Now, residents say they are finally witnessing the benefits of those engagements.
For resident Lynn Mhlanga, the rehabilitation works are addressing more than damaged infrastructure, they are restoring safety along one of the suburb’s busiest roads.
“The roads were no longer safe for both motorists and pedestrians,” she said.
“At times cars were now using the side of the road to avoid potholes, endangering the lives of pedestrians, especially schoolchildren. During the rainy season the potholes would be covered with water and motorists would splash pedestrians while trying to navigate around them.”
She said deteriorating roads had also affected emergency services.
“Even ambulances were struggling to reach some parts of the community because of the poor state of the roads.”
However, they fear the project’s momentum is now slowed by delays from BCC, which is responsible for providing labour for the rehabilitation works after Hualin supplied the materials and funded key aspects of the project.
“We expected the council to complement what Hualin has already done,” said Mkhwananzi.
“The resources are there. The company has honoured its commitment. We simply want the council to honour theirs so this project can be completed within the agreed timeframe.”
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) Ward 17 chairperson, Elias Nyathi, said the community’s biggest concern was the pace at which council was executing its responsibilities.
“We are very grateful for the work that is being done by Hualin,” Nyathi said.
“What is worrying us the most as a community is the snail’s pace exhibited by the city council. On many occasions we have told them that they are the ones who drag a lot of projects that we want to do as a community. This is proof that what we complain about is not banter but genuine concerns.”
He said the delays were also increasing costs for the mining company, which is funding specialised equipment used in the rehabilitation works.
“As it stands, the mining company is paying for some of the machinery per day. We had anticipated that, all things being equal, we would finish within a specific period of time. But if council workers come to work at 4PM and only complete a small portion of the work they are supposed to cover, how will we finish? The more they delay, the more the company assisting us will incur higher costs, which is not fair to them.”
Cllr Moyo acknowledged the concerns raised by residents, noting she had already engaged the relevant council departments over the delays.
“Residents have raised valid concerns about the council, especially because they arrive late to do their part of the work. We are mostly worried that this may affect the goodwill that has been shown by the mining company,” she said.
Moyo said the rehabilitation project had initially been expected to take about a week to complete.
“Now we are taking too long to finish. I have been engaging the relevant council authorities already and I will continue to engage them because we want this project to be done within the set timeframe so that those assisting us will not incur extra costs.”
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