GOVERNMENT is accelerating road rehabilitation projects in urban centres across Zimbabwe under a joint operation with several organisations, Local Government and Public Works minister Daniel Garwe has said.
The Nhimbe/Ilima programme is a collaborative effort between local authorities, the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara), the Transport and Infrastructural Development ministry and the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency.
Speaking during an interaction with the local authorities in Harare yesterday, Garwe said it was important to have a functional local government system that contributed towards achieving national development.
“The journey towards attaining key national development priorities requires functional local government systems which are responsive to the needs of the populace,” he said.
“The programme is a realisation of the imperative need to accelerate our journey to Vision 2030, enabling our citizens to enjoy the benefits of an upper-middle-income economy much earlier than 2030.”
Garwe called on local authorities to embrace and support the initiative, which has secured funding through Zinara for equipment, maintenance and technical backstopping.
“In essence, the Nhimbe/Ilima Road Rehabilitation Programme involves local authorities, as road authorities, combining their equipment into one unit to undertake a project within their province.
“You may want to note that funding has been secured through Zinara to oil the programme, including maintenance of released equipment. On the same hand, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development and the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency will provide technical backstopping.
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“As we take stock of the work done in the last eight months, government continues to explore innovative ways of assisting local authorities to upscale service delivery,” he said.
Garwe reminded the local authorities to meet the deadline for the submission of their master plans.
“The current key driver in the local government sector is premised on the promulgations contained in the local authorities’ service delivery Blueprint running under the theme Call to Action — No Compromise to Service Delivery launched by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa on November 1, 2023,” he said.
“It is critical to note that as we prepare for report back on targets set in the blueprint of the June 30 deadline around the corner, all local authorities should strive to achieve the stated milestones. We have no appetite to extend the deadline further.”
