GOVERNMENT has taken six years to tar only 600 metres of the 50km dust stretch along the Murewa-Madichecha Road in Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe (UMP) district amid reports of looting of road construction funds.
The road construction project is being undertaken through the Central Mechanical and Equipment Department (CMED).
NewsDay established that the government intends to tar 1,2km of the 50km stretch, but has not yet paid CMED for the 600-metre roadworks completed.
The 1,2km road construction project, launched in 2018, is expected to be completed by October next year, CMED officials said.
CMED, however, refused to disclose the value of the tender.
“We acknowledge that CMED Contracting was awarded a tender by the Department of Roads to rehabilitate Murewa-Madichecha Road under ERRP2 [Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme 2],” CMED spokesperson Tarisai Muzorori said.
“It was a lump sum contract bound by its terms of reference that we abide by.
“Scope of work for the project includes shelvert and culvert construction involving earthworks and 30mm asphalt surfacing.”
- Govt takes 6 years to tar a 600m stretch
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CMED said it had completed 60% of the project.
“This [remaining 40%] includes base 2 and base 1 and 30mm asphalt surfacing of the last 600m section,” Muzorori said.
Repeated efforts to get a comment from the Transport and Infrastructural Development ministry on why the government has dragged its feet on the project were in vain as officials had not responded to questions sent in writing by the time of going to press.
Locals, however, say the 600-metre stretch has done little to alleviate the long-standing transport challenges plaguing the district.
The bulk of the road, stretching over 50km from the Maguranga area in Maramba to Dewe in Pfungwe, is riddled with potholes and damaged bridges.
Villages, who spoke to NewsDay, said they were tired of empty promises as they accused politicians of using the road construction project as a vote-buying gimmick during elections.
UMP is regarded as one of Zanu PF’s strongholds in the country.
According to villagers, politicians often abandon the project once the elections are over in a never-ending cycle of false starts and unfulfilled promises.
“We thought it was a demonstration project when the (600m) tar was being constructed,” Admire Mupfawa of ward 6 in Maramba said.
“We have heard politicians singing the same tune of construction of this road. It happens only during an election year.
“In 2013, they announced that they were going to construct the road, but nothing happened.
“In 2018, they did the same and started the roadworks, but it dragged on until now, when they have completed this single kilometre. We are used to this treachery.”
Another villager, Tsitsi Pfupa of ward 5 in Pfungwe, said it had been over a decade since the road construction project started.
“Yet we are still stuck with a dust, potholed road that is a death trap for everyone,” Pfupa said.
“I have seen generations of children grow up, get married and have children of their own, but this road remains a constant reminder of broken promises.
“The transport challenges are unbearable and I have lost faith in authorities’ ability to deliver on their promises.”
Maramba legislator Tichaona Karimazondo (Zanu PF) distanced himself from the project.
“That one is a State road, the State is constructing it,” he told NewsDay.
“We just push the contracting company to expedite the work, but it’s a government project.
“We have our projects that we are implementing.”
Forced to adapt to the treacherous road conditions, villagers have turned to motorbikes as their primary mode of transport.
However, this comes at a risk as most riders do not have protective helmets.
The absence of proper safety gear has become a pressing concern, as villagers are constantly exposed to the dangers of the road.
The situation is even more dire for pregnant women who are often transported to healthcare facilities on motorbikes.
In emergency situations, expectant mothers are carried on bikes, sometimes for hours, to reach Mutawatawa Hospital, the nearest healthcare facility.
The journey puts them and their unborn babies at risk of further complications, highlighting the devastating consequences of the government’s inaction on the road project.
Catherine Amon, a Maramba community health worker, said it was disheartening to see pregnant women being transported to hospital on motorbikes.
“We have heard of women who go into labour, bleeding and in distress, being ferried on motorcycles,” Amon said.
“The slow pace of this project is a death trap for our women and children.
“We appeal to the authorities to expedite construction work and provide our community a safe and reliable road.”
