ECONOMISTS have said the adoption of the design, build, operate and transfer (DBOT) model for road infrastructural development was long overdue to avoid the looting of State resources through murky tenders.
The ongoing road rehabilitation project has been marred by reports of looting through overcharging and poor workmanship.
Government has been on record saying it will sanction some of the companies and withhold payment for poor work.
Early this week, the government said it would adopt the DBOT for road infrastructural development, beginning with the Beitbridge-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road.
Economist Gift Mugano said DBOT was a financially sound intervention that alleviated pressure on the national budget.
“Hard infrastructure such as roads and dams are long-term investments and they require long-term financing models such as public-private partnerships, especially for roads with high traffic volumes. The DBOT model is not only a smart approach for managing infrastructure over the long term, but also a financially sound strategy that alleviates pressure on the national budget,” he said.
Mugano said relying solely on direct government funding for large-scale infrastructural projects had a major destabilising factor whenever the government paid contractors.
“Using the budget to fund infrastructure has been a major destabilising factor on our currency. I suggest that the same approach should be used for other major roads, such as the Chirundu Road, advocating for alternative financing methods like diaspora bonds, infrastructure bonds and long-term loans to fund critical infrastructure,” he noted.
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Economic analyst Batsirai Matsika said there was a need for a deliberate focus on improving trade routes through infrastructural development.
“The North-South Corridor, which connects Zimbabwe to its neighbours, will become a preferred route for regional trade, underlining the government’s commitment to infrastructural development,” Matsika said.
The Beitbridge-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway is in a bad state despite the road linking the country to several countries.
