Mining companies must pay for roads they damage, Senate told

Mining companies should be compelled to repair and maintain roads damaged by heavy mineral-hauling trucks, Matabeleland South Senator Solani Moyo has told the Senate, arguing that taxpayers should not continue bearing the cost of infrastructure deterioration while mining companies profit from Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth.

Moyo said trucks carrying between 30 and 40 tonnes of minerals were using roads that were not designed to withstand such heavy loads, accelerating deterioration and increasing the burden on Government to finance repairs.

“There is one cause of road damage that this House cannot continue to ignore: heavy mining trucks,” Moyo said during debate on a motion on the rehabilitation and maintenance of road infrastructure in the Senate on Wednesday.

“Every day trucks carrying 30 to 40 tonnes of minerals are driving on roads that were never built to carry that kind of weight. These trucks are destroying our roads while the mining companies carry the profits away and leave our people with broken roads.”

He called for the Ministers of Transport and Infrastructural Development and Mines and Mining Development to jointly engage mining companies and establish mechanisms requiring them to contribute towards the rehabilitation of roads affected by their operations.

Moyo further proposed that mining licences should not be renewed unless companies had repaired roads they used and damaged in their areas of operation.

“It is not right, Mr President Sir, that mining companies get the wealth that belongs to the people of Zimbabwe and then leave our roads in ruins without paying to fix them. This must stop,” he said.

Among the mining companies he cited were Blanket Mine, Zimplats, ZMDC, Unki Mine, Sabi Gold Mine, Murowa Diamonds, PPC Zimbabwe, Hwange Colliery, Zambezi Gas and Coal, Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, Shamva Gold Mine, Jessie Gold Mine, Sabi Star Mine, Jena Mine, Turk Mine, How Mine, Mimosa Mine, Sandawana Mine, Zimasco and Tsingshan.

He also identified several roads requiring attention, including the Gwanda Road, Ngezi-Harare Road, Harare-Beitbridge Road, Gweru-Shurugwi Road, Zvishavane-Mbalabala Road, Beitbridge-Gwanda Road, Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road, Gwanda-Filabusi Road and Silobela-Nkayi Road.

Moyo said the deteriorating road network was increasing transport costs for businesses and motorists while making it harder for rural communities to access essential services.

“Potholes, broken bridges and dust roads have become normal when they should not be normal,” he said.

He said the condition of feeder roads was particularly concerning because it affected access to schools, health facilities and markets in rural communities.

Moyo also questioned the management of road-user revenues, including fuel levies, toll fees and vehicle licensing fees, calling for greater public accountability over how the funds are spent.

“This tells us there is a serious problem with planning, with priorities and with how these funds are being used,” he said.

He proposed that revenue collected through fuel levies, toll fees and vehicle licences should be publicly accounted for and principally channelled towards road rehabilitation and maintenance.

The senator also called for weighbridges to be installed along major mining routes to curb overloading, with penalties collected from offending operators being channelled towards road repairs.

Beyond the cost of deteriorating infrastructure, Moyo linked the condition of the road network to road safety and called for greater investment in safer road designs, wider highways where necessary, central safety barriers, stronger vehicle inspections and tougher enforcement against overloading, speeding and dangerous overtaking.

“The Government cannot continue waiting for people to die before talking about road safety,” Moyo said.

“We cannot continue holding funerals, making speeches and then waiting for the next accident.”

He referred to the recent Lake Kariba boat disaster and another fatal road crash as examples of what he described as shortcomings in public safety and infrastructure management.

Moyo said Government should place greater emphasis on preventing disasters rather than responding after lives had already been lost.

“No ritual will widen a road. No ceremony will install a safety barrier. No prayer will repair a damaged highway. These things require planning, money, action and honest leadership,” he said.

He called for a time-bound National Roads Programme covering highways, provincial and district roads, urban roads and rural feeder roads.

The programme, he said, should prioritise roads serving agricultural production areas, mining districts, tourism destinations, border posts, schools and health facilities.

Moyo also proposed performance-based contracts for road construction and maintenance, saying contractors should be held accountable for the quality and durability of their work.

He further called for public-private partnerships and alternative financing mechanisms to accelerate road rehabilitation.

“The people of Matabeleland South and the people of Zimbabwe are tired of promises. They want to see mining trucks share the cost of the roads they are destroying. They want Government to act, not to talk,” Moyo said.