While the government has celebrated the surfacing of a 5-kilometre stretch of the Bulawayo–Nkayi road, local leaders have urged authorities to expedite the long-delayed construction, which has dragged on for decades.
Last week, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona led a tour of government officials to assess progress on the rehabilitation process and officially open the newly refurbished 5 kilometre stretch.
But residents and leaders in Nkayi say the pace is far too slow for a project that has been promised for years.
Nkayi South MP Jabulani Hadebe said government assurances of progress had not matched reality.
“Since we assumed office, the minister has been telling us every six months that the road is being fixed. Last year around this time, some construction works started but they stopped when the rains started. Five months ago, they resumed, poured some liquid tar and stopped again,” he said.
Hadebe added that contractors had cited delays in government payments as the biggest obstacle.
“The main challenge was money. The government was not paying them as per agreement hence it was difficult for them to continue with the work. Even if they were to construct the road at their own expense, they would need assurance that they would get their money on time,” he said.
He suggested that Treasury should either release funds on time or explore other financing models.
“If they do not have the money, they should at least reach an agreement with the contractors and do a Build-Operate-Transfer where they can put up tollgates to pay them. We need solutions that will actually bring progress,” he said.
The MP recalled that mining companies in Bubi had once offered to pool funds for the project, but their proposal collapsed when government demanded direct control of the money.
Nkayi traditional leader Chief Dakamela also welcomed the completed section but warned that at the current rate, the road would take many more years to finish.
“We are really grateful for the development. But what we need is much more progress, at a faster pace,” he said.
“If we are going to be fixing five kilometers at a time, when will the road be completed? We need less of talks from government officials of work that will be done but more of action of projects that are completed.”
He said about 100km of road still needed to be built and insisted government had the means to complete it.
“The only thing needed is for them to have a political will to complete the project. Treasury must release funds on time, tenders be given to multiple companies if there is need, so that the process can be expedited,” Chief Dakamela said.
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