By Chiedza Nyabadza
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has called on state enterprises under the transport ministry not to fall behind on corporate governance audits, while also noting the progress on major projects such as the Harare-Beitbridge Highway which are nearing completion.
Speaking at the 9th session of the Minister’s Public Entities Corporate Governance Oversight Meeting in Bulawayo, the Minister of Transport, Hon. Mhona, said audit compliance had improved across most boards, but lagging parastatals must comply before year-end.
“I am encouraged by the progress made in improving board oversight, financial reporting and audit compliance across most of our entities. However, a few parastatals remain behind schedule in meeting corporate governance audit requirements, and this must be addressed before the end of 2026,” he said.
He also highlighted that transport remains the lifeblood of Zimbabwe’s economy, citing several remarkable projects under the national infrastructure development agenda.
“The Harare-Beitbridge Highway upgrade is on track for completion in December 2026, with Mucheke and Manyame bridges now open. The Bulawayo-Victoria Falls rehabilitation nears completion under the ‘kilometer-by-kilometer’ approach,” he added.
Norton Toll Plaza is showing tremendous progress, while Dema and Skyline toll gates will be relocated and upgraded to plazas to cut revenue leakages.
Mr. Martin Gwari, who was representing the Minister of State for Bulawayo Metropolitan Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Hon. Judith Ncube, spoke on the principle of devolution.
“Devolution means decentralized governance where services are devolved to local governance structures with central government oversight,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary, Eng. J.P. Makumbe, gave a recap of the Ministry of Transport Strategic Meeting held from 18 to 19 June.
“We need the correct people in office. If they do not have capacity, we spoke about training them so that they have the requisite skills for us to achieve the objective,” she said.
“We also discussed financing of these objectives and funding, where we emphasized innovation. Let us not just wait for the fiscus because we know the cake is small, but let us be innovative,” she explained.
The meeting brought together executives and board members from various transport parastatals.
Parastatals present included ZINARA, TSCZ, CAAZ, ACZ, National Handling Services, CMED, NRZ and Air Zimbabwe.
The Ministry is pushing for full audit compliance by the end of 2026 while stressing good governance, devolution, human capital development, and innovative financing for transport infrastructure projects.
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