ZINARA Disburses $6 Billion For Road Rehabilitation 

The Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA) has distributed nearly $6 billion to all provinces and local authorities for road maintenance in the first quarter of this year under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP).

The development comes after in February this year, ZINARA said it was setting aside $17 billion for the ERRP which is in line with the National Development Strategy 1 whose main aspirations include infrastructural development as a key enabler in attaining Vision 2030 of attaining an upper-middle-income economy.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2021 declared a state of national disaster on all the roads by promulgating SI 47 of 2021 which specifically empowered the Transport minister to authorise Zinara to source funding for road rehabilitation.

In a statement, ZINARA said it had so far distributed a total of $5 813 681 689.42 as follows:

• i). Harare over $1.4 billion,
• ii). Bulawayo $107 million,
• iii). Manicaland $664.3 million,
• iv). Mashonaland Central $155.4 million,
• v). Mashonaland East $634.2 million,
• vi). Mashonaland West $599.4 million,
• vii). Masvingo $625.8 million,
• viii). Matabeleland North $452 million,
• ix). Matabeleland South $267.5 million
• x). Midlands was allocated $582.9 million.

In total countrywide:

• a). the Department of Roads was allocated over $4.1 billion,
• b). the District Development Fund $320 million,
• c). Urban Councils $772 million,
• d). Rural District Councils had over $579 million.

Commenting on the latest disbursements by Zinara, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona said roads were the heartbeat of development in any jurisdiction and that roads and roadworks helped to reduce poverty through trade facilitation and employment creation.