Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Richard Moyo, has urged contractors working on the to prioritise pothole patching within the stretches they have been allocated. Moyo made the remarks during an ongoing media tour conducted by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development to assess progress on the ongoing rehabilitation works. Following the public outcry on the state of Bulawayo to Victoria Falls road, a total of eight contractors have been assigned different sections of the road, with some reporting challenges caused by the Kalahari sands prevalent in parts of Matabeleland North.
The minister toured only one section completed by a single contractor as he had to leave for Harare shortly after. “I want to thank the contractors for the job they are doing in our Province but as I told you before, this road was in a bad state because of potholes and other challenges we have on it,” Moyo said. “So what we want is if the contractor is doing his road or his section, he should also take note of doing pothole patching in his or her stretch.” Moyo said there is a 45 km road which is vulnerable and needs pothole patching,“ that’s what we want.” He, however, said some contractors are behind their schedule “ Fossil told us that he would have completed his stretch by September next year but others are behind, they might finish their job maybe October or November because they are behind,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister urged the Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) to intensify enforcement against overloaded trucks, which he said are contributing significantly to road damage. “If we let them overload this beautiful road it will be bad again in a short space of time. We want VID to chip in and we have weigh bridges all over so that they don’t do that overloading system,” he said.
