Story by Farirai Mutumburanzou
Manicaland Province has become the first province in the country to be declared pothole-free on all national highways in 2024, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has said.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development acknowledged that all State roads in the province have zero potholes.
“As of February 2024, we pushed our provincial road engineers to ensure that their provinces are pothole-free.
“Manicaland Province is the first to declare their province pothole free.
“Congratulations to them! Keep watching this space as we intensify #ZeroTolerancetoPotholes,” read the post by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development on its X (formerly Twitter) handle.
The Ministry noted that a well-maintained road network is the lifeblood of any economy as it ensures consistent and reliable transportation.
Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development’s Manicaland provincial roads engineer, Engineer Kudzai Maganga has attributed this success to timeous release of funds by treasury.
Furthermore, unity of purpose by the provincial leadership led by Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza has made this milestone achievable.
Department of Roads under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development superintends over a 2 732,1km road network, of which 1 608,8km falls under surfaced roads, while 1123,3km are either gravel or earth roads.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has challenged the Local authorities to emulate Government and attend to urban roads so that they become trafficable.
Most urban roads which fall under councils are in a bad state and government had to intervene sometime in Harare to rehabilitate some of the roads.
