Emmanuel Chitsika
A number of roads being constructed or renovated under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP) embarked on by the government of Zimbabwe in a bid to improve the road network around the country have been deteriorating soon after completion, pointing to poor workmanship.
Some of the contractors who are doing the work have become notorious for producing these poor roads, but continue getting contracts in different parts of the country, bringing to question how the monitoring of the programme is being done.
The ERRP has seen billions of dollars being poured into the programme, and has been one of the Second Dispensation’s biggest points of implementation after President Emmerson Mnangagwa condemed most roads in the country at the beginning of the programme.
Recently, Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) revealed that it was going to disburse $17 billion under the second phase of the programme, after having already disbursed $5,8 billion to road authorities across Zimbabwe in the first phase.
Last year Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona told Senate that a monitoring and evaluation approach had been adopted by government to ensure quality delivery of projects.
In Chiredzi there are reports that Fossil Contracting was directed to re-do Lion Drive road after it developed potholes barely less than two weeks after opening to traffic.
Chiredzi District Development Coordinator (DDC) Lovemore Chisema said in as much as they are concerned with the poor road surfaces they have seen in the Lowveld town, they are yet to assess the work before coming up with a detailed overall report.
“I am equally concerned with the quality of some of the roads because generally when one looks at the surface, you would see that the quality is below standard so we are going to do some checks on the roads. I am yet to carry out that exercise of assessing the roads; I haven’t been around as I was part of the Population and Household Census programme. I once called the contractors three days ago for some other engagement but we are yet to go on a tour of the roads they have done where we expect them to brief us on their work,” said Chisema.
Masvingo Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Dr Jefta Sakupwanya however said inadequate capacity to supervise the contracted companies might have led to such poor quality road surfaces, saying government was going to descend on work contractors responsible for shoddy work and blacklist them.
“As government, we do not allow or tolerate poor work at all. We are saying those contractors who are found wanting in terms of poor workmanship should be blacklisted and never allowed to get other tenders of work in the future.
“Currently the immediate intervention we have sought is to train road authorities on how to ensure strict supervision of contractors and of course working with Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA), we have got a team at provincial level which is moving around trying to ensure quality assurance on the roads because after completion, these roads should last between 15 and 25 years to avoid a scenario in which government would waste resources channelled towards such initiatives,” said Dr Sakupwanya.
He went on to say that there could be some contractors who are responsible for poor workmanship, with most doing well.
“Apa paita zai rimwe rakaora muBasket rakazara mazai akanaka chose (It is a matter of one rotten egg in a basket full of good eggs). What I can say is that there is need to enhance and improve the capacity of contractors of these road authorities to manage and supervise contractors. There was that inadequate capacity to monitoring and supervision of contractors which could have led to the compromise in terms of the quality of roads,” he added.
In Masvingo urban in Rujeko suburb, Ingwe Drive is one such example of poorly done work as the road developed cracks before the road markings that were recently done.
Some local authorities have been blamed for shoddy resurfacing after they only put gravel in some roads, which was then washed away by rains.
In Masvingo again, the Chimusana Bridge which was confirmed to have been incorporated into the ERRP due to failure by Masvingo City Council to rehabilitate it has been a ‘white elephant’ project as anything meaningful is yet to be implemented.
