LEGISLATORS have urged the government to increase allocation of funds to road rehabilitation programmes amid concerns over the sorry state of roads and bridges in rural areas.
Nkayi South legislator Jabulani Hadebe told Southern Eye this week that many bridges were constructed during the colonial era and have not seen significant maintenance or upgrades since.
“Failure to maintain our bridges has resulted in a dire situation as it poses safety risks to the public,” he said.
“Recently, the rains swept away bridges around Gonye, Manomano and Komayanga. Gullies have developed in most of our roads, leading to difficulties for the public to access some areas using vehicles.”
Hadebe said the conditions of national roads and bridges is reflective of broader issue that plagues Zimbabwe.
“According to recent reports, the government has admitted that several roads and bridges around the country have outlived their design life and are showing signs of distress as evidenced by heavy potholes, cracks and rusting,” he added.
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Hadebe said the situation had been exacerbated by years of neglect and continuous rains.
“In Nkayi South, the state of our bridges is particularly alarming,” he said.
“For instance, the Tohwe bridge developed cracks and became a death trap, which has led to a section of the road leading to it being closed to traffic for the past five years.”
Hadebe said despite government’s commitment to completing the project, funding challenges, rent-seeking behavior and corruption have resulted in only a fraction of the country’s roads being rehabilitated or resurfaced.
“This has ripple effects on the surrounding infrastructure, including our bridges, which continue to deteriorate. Recently, a Mandlendoda bus from Mateme area of Nkayi was involved in a serious accident in Lukona, though no fatalities were recorded,” he said.
The area legislator said there was need to explore innovative solutions and improved design standards to create more durable infrastructure.
Tsholotsho North legislator Libion Sibanda said there was need to construct new or rehabilitate old bridges in rural area for safe passage of the public.
“Most bridges within our areas and roads are in a sorry state, which makes movements of public to be hard,” he said.
Sibanda said failure to construct bridges had affected children as they fail to cross flooded rivers and go to school during the rainy season, affecting their academic life.
“For instance, we need a bridge at Gwabazabuye River as some children have to cross the river to access school in the other areas since during the rain, it is hard to cross,” he said.