GOVERNMENT has promised to fix roads in Binga to cater for the increase in traffic volumes in the district.
The remarks were made by Transport and Infrastructural Development deputy minister Joshua Sacco during a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly this week after Binga South legislator Fanuel Cumanzala had asked him to explain to the House the reasons behind the delays in the rehabilitation of two roads of national significance in Binga.
Cumanzala had said the roads that have had inordinate delays were the Cross Dete-Binga, which has not undergone rehabilitation for over 15 years, and the 15km stretch from Gwai River to Lusulu via Lubimbi Road, which has remained untarred since the early 1980s.
In his response, Sacco said the Cross Dete-Binga Road was a priority to the ministry.
“However, during the ERRP 2 [Emergency Road Rehabilitation Phase 2] the whole route was gravelled to make it trafficable and the route is continuously being graded with the assistance of Muchesu Mine,” Sacco said.
“Plans are there to upgrade it in phases of 10km. However, it should be noted that the upgrading of roads in the province is being prioritised according to the volume of traffic that each road is carrying.”
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In 2023 with the assistance of Kamativi Mining Company, only 3km of the road was rehabilitated near the Kamativi area.
“The Gwai-Binga Road is the alternative route to Binga town via Kariangwe Mission Hospital, but due to limited financial resources, only the Cross Dete-Kamativi-Binga Road has been surfaced to date,” Sacco added.
In 2021, a section of the road near Binga centre was swept away following torrential rains, leaving motorists in jeopardy.
Matabeleland North province was allocated ZWL$700 million in 2021 through the Transport and Infrastructural Development ministry for road rehabilitation of an estimated 2 937km road network in the province.