..Fears for another rainy season of isolation
By Beatific Gumbwanda
CHIREDZI – Chief Chilonga has voiced deep frustration over the official silence surrounding the stalled construction of the Chilonga Bridge, warning that his community faces renewed isolation and danger with the new rainy season approaching.
The Chief, born David Ben, raised the issue during a Chiredzi Rural District Council Full Council Meeting held recently, expressing dismay that the critical project was not being discussed.
“I am saddened that I have not heard anything about the construction of Chilonga Bridge during the presentations. We must continue to advocate for the construction of this bridge, even if it seems off-topic.” Said the Chief
The urgency stems from the complete collapse of the original causeway across the Runde River in March of this year, which succumbed to heavy, relentless rains. This is not an isolated incident, as the Chilonga crossing has been a perennial problem for over a decade, frequently washing away and leaving communities stranded.
The bridge is the primary lifeline connecting thousands of residents in the Chilonga area to Chiredzi Town. Without it, access to essential services is severed, cutting people off from the District Hospital, banks, agricultural markets, and the National Registry office. The human cost has been tragically high over the years, with several lives lost as people attempted to cross the flooded river during the rainy season. The existing structure is narrow and low-lying, making it prone to flooding and forcing villagers to use unsafe boats to cross.
Faced with government inaction in the immediate aftermath of the March collapse, the community, as they have done many times before, took matters into its own hands. Between April and May 2025, locals mobilized their own resources, contributing labour and materials like stones to construct a temporary, makeshift bridge. This stopgap solution allowed for precarious passage but is unreliable and unsafe, especially with more rain forecast. This cycle of community-led repairs highlights a pattern of despair where residents exhaust their own limited resources to build temporary structures, only to see them destroyed again the following season.
In response to Chief Chilonga’s concerns, Chiredzi RDC Chairperson Aspect Mashingaidze offered an explanation that has become familiar to the community. He assured the Chief that the community had not been ignored, but the project was stalled in the tender process.
“The issue lies with the tendering process, contractor bids have been significantly above the government’s expectations, and no one has been willing to retender with a reasonable cost. That is what is currently holding up the project,” Mashingaidze explained.
Earlier this year, Chiredzi Central Member of Parliament, Ropafadzo Makumire, asked the Minister of Roads and Infrastructural Development, Felix Mhona, to update the house on the government’s plans. Minister Mhona indicated that significant work, including planning and designs, had to be carried out, prolonging the timeframe.
A site five kilometres downstream from the causeway was identified but will require substantial foundations, with the bridge length projected at 500 meters.
“Detailed designs of the superstructures are at an advanced stage and will be complete by mid-June 2025,” said Mhona. “Thereafter the bills of quantities and engineer’s estimates or budget will be prepared due to the limited internal capacity to undertake detailed foundation, which is the substructure designs by the Department of Roads, which is in the process of retooling its soil testing laboratories. The projected cost for the new Chilonga Bridge is USD 72,000,000.00 and will be included in the work program and budget for 2026.”
He said the planning was time-consuming due to the weak soil types in the area, which were not strong enough to support the proposed bridge loads. “It is important to point out that bridge projects are special by their nature and that they involve a number of processes in planning and design stages,” Mhona explained. “The site selection process had to be carried out a number of times… Due to the fact that this process involves both topographical and geotechnical surveys to be carried out before the actual design of river works, substructures and superstructures can be embarked on, it has taken some time for this project to be implemented.”
However, these justifications offer little comfort against the backdrop of past promises. Government officials have pledged a permanent bailey or concrete bridge as far back as 2021, following another tragic drowning, yet these assurances have consistently failed to materialize.
As the skies darken with the promise of more rain, the people of Chilonga are left hoping that a permanent solution is found before the river rises once more, breaking another temporary link and threatening both their livelihoods and their lives.
