Create city roads dept: Kasukuwere

LOCAL Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has ordered Harare City Council to create a stand-alone Roads Department in order to efficiently attend to the city’s roads, most of which are in a deplorable state.

Speaking during a tour of some of the potholed roads in Harare on Tuesday, Minister Kasukuwere said the city’s Department of Works was overburdened as it also dealt with environment issues hence the need to have a specialised department.

“You should have a stand-alone department which specialises in roads because as it stands, you are overburdening the Department of Works. The department also has an environment division, but environmental issues are important and demanding hence we cannot have the two under the same department,” he said.

According to the city, the Department of Works is a multi-disciplinary engineering arm for the council responsible for the maintenance and upgrade of the city’s infrastructure.

Some of the divisions which fall under the department include, City Environmental Technical Services, City Architecture, Administration and Finance, City Land Survey, City Planning and Development, Valuation and Estates, Harare Quarry, Waste Management, Mechanical and Electrical Workshops, Property Development and Roads.

In 2014, council collapsed departments which include Housing and Community Services and that of the Chamber Secretary, which now form Corporate Services; while Engineering Services, Waste Management and Urban Planning now fall under the Department of Works.

Harare Mayor Clr Bernard Manyenyeni yesterday maintained that the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration should take care of the city’s roads.

“We are not getting any funding so we do not need such a department without funding. How are we able to carry out road operations,” he said.

Speaking at a press conference on the decentralisation of council services to the district level Clr Manyenyeni said a council was flexible and amenable to positive change geared to change the fortunes of residents.

“Council has approved the setting up of the environmental management services division under the Office of the Town Clerk.”