Road rehab gets ZNCC thumbs up
THE Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce has commended Government for investing in roads rehabilitation across the country, saying good road infrastructure results in fast delivery of goods and services.
ZNCC said as the country seeks to strengthen its footprint on the continental and international market, good road infrastructure will help attract investment.
The Government has been rehabilitating roads across the country.
In an interview, ZNCC Midlands Chapter vice-president Mr Tinashe Manzungu said an efficient road network will result in cheaper and faster movement of goods.
“We are appealing to the Government to improve the road network so that movement of goods on the road will be efficient,” he said. “A good road network is capable of attracting investors because delays are minimised.”
Mr Manzungu said some businesses were losing stock to road accidents due to the bad state of the roads.
“A number of businesses are losing stock due to road accidents and most accidents are a result of poor state of roads, and that is not good for the business sector,” he said.
Mr Manzungu said there is a need to revive the railway network for easier transportation of goods.
“The revival of the rail network is crucial, considering the large volume of cargo it can carry over long distance and at lower costs,” he said.
Meanwhile, Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group, DIDG says the local foundry business needs to be revived to eliminate the costs of importing rail infrastructure components.
In an interview, DIDG executive chairman Mr Donovan Chimhandamba said foundries need to come back online as lots of components were needed for the revival of the country’s railway system.
“For the resuscitation of the railway system, it is crucial that foundries are revived so that components needed for revamping NRZ are found locally as it is cost effective compared to importing,” he said.
He said they wanted the National Railways of Zimbabwe to mainly focus on providing infrastructure.
DIDG recently signed a $400 million deal with Government to recapitalise the national railway.