Mat North appeals for more project funds
THE Government has spent $35 million rehabilitating roads in Matabeleland North but more money is required urgently to complete the projects before the rainy season starts, a senior official has said.
Additional funds are required as a matter of urgency to complete road works on sections of the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road in Bubi District, Bulawayo-Tsholotsho Road in Umguza and the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road near Gwayi.
Matabeleland North provincial roads engineer, Engineer Stephen Kamutema said this on Tuesday during a tour of the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road and Bulawayo-Tsholotsho Road projects by Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Minister Cde Richard Moyo.
Briefing the Minister, Eng Kamutema blamed bureaucracy and centralised procurement system for the delays in releasing funds for quarry stones needed to complete the road rehabilitation works that started at the beginning of this year. He could not give the exact amount of money needed citing price fluctuations.
“Our main challenges have been financial. We had the removal of the 1:1 rate it wiped off our budget when the interbank exchange rates were introduced. Secondly the centralised procurement system is also affecting our projects. Maybe with the assistance from your office we can address the problem. We were supposed to have surfaced the roads using the granite stone but up to now we have not received the funds for the projects. Rains are also coming soon and if we have a serious downpour, all we have done could be reversed. And these are public funds that could be lost as we would have to redo everything,” said Eng Kamutema.
“The works on Bulawayo-Nkayi Road is more than five kilometres it’s primed, it’s ready for surfacing, same with Gwayi along the Bulawayo- Victoria Falls Road it’s primed it’s ready but there is no stone. It’s just bottleneck after bottleneck at the Ministry’s procurement system.”
For the road works along Bulawayo-Nkayi and BulawayoTsholotsho roads, he said, approximately $35 million could be lost if the road is to be redone.
Eng Kamutema said delays in releasing funds could also compromise the quality of the roads.
“The centralised procurement system could result in small companies from Harare being given jobs to provide quarry stone yet there is Davies Granite in Bulawayo which has been a reliable supplier for a long time. Some of those companies can even fail to do the job,” he said.
Eng Kamutema said delays in providing funds has forced him to remove hired equipment on site as public funds were used to pay for the idle machinery.
Speaking after the tour, Cde Moyo said he will engage the Minister of Transport and infrastructural Development Cde Joel Biggie Matiza over the delays in completing the road projects. He said the rehabilitation of the roads in Matabeleland North was part of Zanu-PF manifesto and President Mnangagwa wants the roads to be completed.
“We deciced to do the tour after people had started calling me that there is no longer progress on the ground, equipment is being removed and so forth. These are very important projects for the people in Matabeleland North. Most of the projects in the region are not moving. I think the only project that is progressing is Unit 7 and 8 in Hwange. I will also visit Gwayi Shangani Dam maybe next week because I think it’s also being affected by funding,” he said.
Cde Moyo also toured Ingwingwizi Bridge along the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road which was completed earlier this year. — @nqotshili