Bulawayo residents can now approach the local authority to request sand to fix the pothole-riddled roads in their localities.
This came out of the virtual full council meeting, Wednesday, as councillors deliberated on the deplorable state of roads in the city.
Ward 22 Councillor Rodney Jele said councillors can identify roads in their wards which need immediate attention and liaise with the local authority to deliver the required sand and residents can work on them.
“Councillors are allowed to make arrangements with their residents to fix roads in their wards. If there are roads in dire need of attention, arrangements can be made with the city council to deliver sand for patching potholes,” said Cllr Jele.
He was responding to a complaint raised by Ward 24 councillor Arnold Batirai who said no road works had been done in his ward but had seen works being done in neighbouring wards.
Cllr Jele said the process of road rehabilitation is moving at a snail pace due to limited machinery.
“The machinery which we use for regrading and resurfacing is the same that is being used to service the Emhlangeni stands as well as the ones used by ZINARA to fix other roads. Hence there is a need for councillors to work closely with their residents and make efforts to fix roads where possible.”
Councillor for Ward 17, Sikhululekile Moyo, suggested that when selecting roads to fix, the council must prioritise severely damaged roads especially those that are no longer accessible for public transport.
“In my ward, there are sections that are no longer accessible for public transport. This results in residents walking long distances. We do understand that most roads around the city are in a deplorable state but may those in worse condition be given first priority,” she said.
“May the Central government also allow local authorities to get money directly from ZINARA so that we can be able to fix our own roads timeously. Residents are struggling to move from one point to the next because of the bad roads’ state.”
