Lion Drive
Beatific Gumbwanda
03 Feb 2017 – CHIREDZI – Barely three months after being commissioned, the newly-tarred Lion Drive has been condemned and transport operators are pressuring council over shoddy work carried out by the contractor whose merit in civil engineering could not immediately be verified.
The road was tarred by a company identified as Clime Construction and was completed way behind schedule in late 2016 after months of unexplained delays.
Chiredzi Town Council chairperson, Francis Moyo said the road had been condemned because huge potholes had suddenly emerged mainly at the bridge that connects old and new rank bus terminuses.
Road transport operators in Chiredzi have vocally complained about the poor workmanship that was done with residents saying they suspect corruption was at play during the construction process.
It was the last road constructed in 2016 but it has quickly degenerated and it looks worse than those that have always been there.
Moyo said he had since informed Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara), which administered the project, of the situation on the ground.
He said the council still owed Clime Construction some money but was no longer prepared to pay it.
“I have condemned Lion Drive because it was not done well as potholes have developed. I have since informed Zinara of the present situation and we are no longer going to pay Clime Construction of their balance because they are supposed to reconstruct it,” said Moyo.
However, Council Engineer, Wesley Kauma, who said he was out of town, seemed to contradict Moyo, saying a road cannot just be condemned because it had developed ‘two or three potholes’.
“I am not aware that the newly constructed road has developed potholes. I will pay a visit but we can’t just condemn it because it has developed two or three portholes,” said Kauma.news
