Staff Reporter
City of Kwekwe Director of Works, Engineer John Mhike says the local authority is struggling to maintain its road network due to inadequate disbursements from the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) despite meeting all required acquittal procedures.
Speaking during the city’s 2025 budget review and 2026 budget consultation meeting with the business community, Engineer Mhike said the council has consistently submitted acquittals on time but still faces delays and shortfalls in the release of funds.
“In our case, as Kwekwe City Council, the little that we are given, we acquit quickly and then ask for additional funds to be released,” he said. “But it’s never automatic that after doing the acquittals and lobbying, you get what you were supposed to get.”
Mhike revealed that the city had also applied for support under ZINARA’s “special projects” facility, citing the Midlands State University (MSU) campus road network as a priority area deserving national attention.
“We tried to name-drop and say, as you are aware, the MSU project is a special project with interest from the first office and kindly assist,” he said. “Even others beyond us tried to push them to expand Amaveni Road, but we ended up doing it on our own despite those efforts.”
The city engineer added that despite the government extending the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP) no new funding had been received so far this year to support road maintenance works in Kwekwe.
“The President announced that the ERRP is continuing, but so far there is no single cent under that programme,” Mhike said. “We are only sharing about ZINARA to convince them to release the funds which are supposed to be released.”
Business leaders at the meeting expressed frustration over the worsening state of the city’s roads and questioned whether the council was doing enough to secure fair funding from ZINARA.
Businessman Martin Potsekai said the low allocations made it difficult for council to meet road maintenance demands.
“You end up getting maybe a hundred thousand, which is not enough,” Potsekai said. “With the condition of our roads, it’s clear council cannot do much from internal budgets alone. The roads are getting worse by the day.”
Another businessman Themba Musekiwa urged the council to intensify its engagement with ZINARA.
“Are we doing enough as council to confront or convince ZINARA that the traffic is increasing quickly and what we are getting from their allocation is way below what is required to sustain the roads?” he asked.
The exchange highlighted growing concern among Kwekwe’s business community over deteriorating infrastructure, which they say is affecting commerce and investment in the city.
