Residents urge Govt to plough back funds into upgrading Beitbridge
BEITBRIDGE residents have urged Government to channel funds collected under the Beitbridge Bridge Fund (BBF) initiative towards the upgrading the town’s key infrastructure in line with the June 16, 2014 agreement between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The fund was established after Government assumed ownership and operations of the New Limpopo Bridge following the expiry of a 20-year Built Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement with New Limpopo Bridge Pvt (Ltd), a company which constructed the bridge in 1994.
The Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA) is collecting toll fees from the bridge on behalf of Government. Beitbridge Residents Association’s secretary for finance, Mrs Lucia Khumalo, made the request during a stakeholder’s consultation meeting held in the border town recently. The meeting was meant to outline plans to implement the one-stop-border-post concept between South Africa and Zimbabwe, which is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
“We are concerned with the state of infrastructure in this town, especially that we are the face of Zimbabwe.
“Following the takeover of the bridge by our Government, a fund was established to help Musina and Beitbridge develop infrastructure including roads. We are however yet to enjoy the fruits of that arrangement and therefore call on the Government to revisit that position,” she said.
Mrs Khumalo said while Beitbridge Border Post was the Government’s cash cow, it was saddening to note that the border town lagged behind in terms of infrastructure development.
She said the Beitbridge Town Council was cash- strapped and appealed to Government to assist.
“The volume of traffic is very high and in some cases they destroy our roads, though we are not getting anything as a town to cover those damages. The town is grappling with servicing or residential stands, road maintenance and accommodation shortages for civil servants.
“As residents we strongly feel that with adequate funding derived from the Beitbridge Bridge Fund some of these issues can be addressed,” said Mrs Khumalo.