Zimbabwe News Update
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2 min read
Villagers in ward 17’s peri-urban area, robert sinyoka, continue to bear the brunt of impassable roads, despite local mining companies having provided materials for the rehabilitation of the roads. The villagers lamented that heaps of sand have been lying by the roadside for the past six months after being donated by the mining companies, together with fuel and some yellow equipment to assist in the roadworks. Community leaders toldcitein an interview that the quarry mining companies in their area, haulin and zada, provided the materials needed to carry out the roadworks, but the bulawayo city council (bcc) has not played its part in rehabilitating the roads.
According to city by-laws, private entities are prohibited from conducting any form of roadworks without formal clearance from the council, and anyone who carries out road repairs without authorisation risks criminal charges or fines under the roads act [chapter 13:18]. Read:https://cite.Org.Zw/seek-permission-first-before-embarking-on-road-repairs-bcc-in-latest-warning/ vice chairperson of the village development committee (vidco) for robert sinyoka, richard thebe, raised concerns that the road connecting robert sinyoka, mazwi and st peter’s has remained impassable, with heaps of sand lying by the roadside. “this road has taken too long to be fixed. The only thing that is outstanding is for the council to come and spread the sand to level it.
This is a huge loss to the people who provided this sand because a greater portion of it has been stolen by sand poachers,” thebe complained. “there was a grader that was supplied by the mine company, and the city council was supposed to do the rest of the work, but that did not happen. Initially, the mine company had brought the grader with fuel, and the city council came to do a portion of the work. After that, there was no more progress. The owner ended up taking his equipment back because it was not being utilised.” thebe said the sand has attracted the attention of sand poachers, who have stolen a significant portion of it, leaving the villagers worried about how they will replace it.
“we have since approached the city council, asking them to deploy rangers to safeguard this sand, especially at night,” he said. “if there can be a team that is dedicated to guard overnight, searching all the lorries that loiter around this place to ensure they are not stealing the sand. This sand is different from the other pit sand they get elsewhere. The people who donated it to us actually contributed money because it is of high quality.” bulawayo progressive residents association (bpra) vice chairperson for ward 17, nothando ndiweni, accused the city council of lacking the will to complete the roadworks. Source: cite
