THE Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) has disbursed about ZiG2,7 billion to various road authorities for road infrastructure projects in the nine months ended September 30, 2024, though gaps remain in budget utilisation.
Zinara revealed that support efforts were being rendered as the administration’s technical department works with counterparts in local authorities to close these budgetary gaps.
During the period under review, the administration noted that the disbursement resulted in 33 773km of road being constructed or rehabilitated from 568 projects.
The disbursements also resulted in fuel payouts amounting to 1,5 million litres being disbursed to urban and rural projects.
Treasury in 2021 noted that the country’s infrastructure investment needs were over US$19 billion.
“The Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) has made significant strides in funding the maintenance of the nation’s road infrastructure through the disbursement of close to ZiG2,7 billion to the various road authorities across the country. This amount includes fuel disbursements of 1,5 million litres drawn down during the period in line with Zinara’s strategic agenda to capacitate road authorities,” Zinara said in a statement released yesterday.
“The disbursements, covering the period from January to September 2024, have supported much-needed road rehabilitation in urban and rural areas and Zinara’s strategic funding mix has ensured that local authorities have the resources required to attend to various road works.”
Zinara said that most road authorities’ uptake of funds had been steady across respective categories of road authorities, closing the period at 91%.
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“Overall, most road authorities have executed their budgets well and this may be attributed to the improved investment in the capacitation of road authorities by Zinara, particularly with regards to technical competencies to co-ordinate, manage and acquire disbursed funds,” it said.
“While disbursements have progressed well in many areas, there are still gaps in budget utilisation, with some road authorities trending below 20%. Support efforts are being rendered as Zinara’s technical department works with counterparts in road authorities to close these gaps.
“General uptake of funds has been steady across respective categories of road authorities, closing the period at 91% uptake against the annual budget, 80% of provinces have accessed above 50% of their allocation, while projects currently underway are expected to push this uptake up significantly by the close of the year.”
Zinara noted that the top takers of the fund were Harare Metropolitan province with an 88% uptake, Mashonaland East (73%) and Bulawayo (71%).
“This has been driven by the extensive road works around the city (Harare) before and after the Sadc Summit, yielding a positive transformation of the capital’s roads,” Zinara said.
In the out look, Zinara said it remained committed to the effective discharge of its mandate as a road fund -administrator.
“To this end, the administration continues to operationalise its strategic agenda anchored on four key pillars of integrity, capacitation, engagement and automation,” Zinara said.
“Zinara is open to continuous engagement and collaboration to ensure continual improvement in the discharge of its mandate; while investing in technology to automate some of its functions as a means to establishing a more efficient system of operation.”
