Harare (New Ziana) -The Ha rare City Council (HCC) is considering introducing a levy to raise funds for repairing roads in residential areas, especially high-density suburbs, most of which have become impassable due to years of neglect.
HCC spokesperson Innocent Ruwende told New Ziana on Thursday that the local authority did not have the funds to fix roads in residential areas, most of which have not been repaired since the suburbs were built during the colonial era.
Most roads in residential areas were designed for light use, and as vehicle ownership increased, they quickly fell into disrepair, with many no longer having the tarred surface and infested with potholes.
Ruwende said the funds that the council received from the Zimbabwe National Road Authority (ZINARA) were not adequate to carry out the required extensive road repairs and maintenance.
“We don’t have money. You know that council does a lot of things which require money,” he said.
He pointed out that it costs up to US$I million to fix a kilometre of road and as such, it was not possible to repair the vast road network in the residential areas using the few funds that they received from ZINARA.
The state of roads in most high-density suburbs is now deplorable, with the situation being worsened by the rains that have been falling throughout the country recently.
Over the years, motorists have been complaining about the huge costs that they incur repairing their vehicles, particularly the front suspension, which are damaged by the deplorable roads.
Ruwende said Council was in the process of repairing some main roads in the residential areas ahead of the rainy season.
All local authorities in the country receive funds from the ZINARA to repair and maintain roads under their jurisdictions, but many of them have been accused of diverting these to other uses, including perks for top officials.
As a result, they fail to access more funds from ZINARA, which demands that they first account for previous disbursements before it can release more.
The government took away the function of collecting motor vehicle licences from local authorities and gave it to ZINARA in 2010 after it discovered that some of the entities were misusing the funds.
It remains to be seen whether the government will allow the HCC to introduce the levy that it is contemplating as history has shown that it may not be used for its intended purpose.
New Ziana
