ERRP2 enters home stretch…
As Zimbabweans, we all agree that roads are the heartbeat of development in any jurisdiction. Roads and roadworks help to reduce poverty through trade facilitation and employment creation respectively. It is unfortunate that our road infrastructure is in a bad state and now require extensive attention.
Through his wise counsel, His Excellency, the President, Cde, Dr. E.D Mnangagwa in 2021 declared a state of national disaster on all the roads by promulgating SI 47 of 2021 based on Section 27(2) of the Civil Protection Act [Chapter 10:06] as read with the Roads Act. The promulgation set us on an accelerated drive to raise funds under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP2) through ZINARA to enable the mobilization of resources required to manage road maintenance and rehabilitation. Section 7 of SI 47 of 2021, specifically empowered me to authorize ZINARA to source funding on the market in advance in lieu of the revenues that are yet to be allocated by Treasury in terms of Section 9 of the Roads Act [Chapter 13:18]. This enabled ZINARA to legally raise the money and also to give comfort and protection to all investors under the ERRP2.
The declaration enabled Government to come up with a national restoration plan to realign all the resources with the view to operationalize the emergency road rehabilitation plan including devolution funds. This is coupled with the traditional resource mobilization strategies such as tolling and vehicle licensing.
It is not a secret that most of our roads were not attended to in the past seven years and I want to thank the Second Republic for making sure that no one or place is left behind in terms of infrastructure development under the New Dispensation. In 2021, I can safely inform the nation that no province or district was not adequately funded in terms of disbursements. Under ERRP2, the Department of Roads has taken over major roads in Urban Local Authorities to expedite the maintenance and repair works, with Provincial Road Engineers superintending over all roads within their
respective provinces.
As a Ministry, we have a mandate to meet targets set for us in the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) which feeds into Vision 2030 as enunciated by His Excellency, the President, Cde, Dr E.D Mnangagwa. Pursuant to this, I want to acknowledge and appreciate ZINARA’s efforts in making sure that disbursements are done timeously. As Government, we could not have done much under ERRP2 if ZINARA had failed to provide funding. I must say that the alignment of ZINARA to its mandate is now paying positive fruits. Going into 2022, Government through ZINARA is going to expedite funding to all the road authorities to ensure that much ground is covered in terms of road rehabilitation.
As ERRP2 enters home stretch, I am pleased to share with all Zimbabweans a progress update on works covered in 2021 under ERRP2.