CHRA response to declaration of state of disaster regarding Harare roads

The Combined Harare Residents Association notes the declaration of a state of disaster with regards the state of roads in Harare by the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Honorable Savior Kasukuwere.

It is a fact that most roads in Harare have become virtually impassable and have become a huge risk to motorists.

However, as CHRA we would like to reiterate our call for the management of vehicle license fees to be returned to the Harare City Council from the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA).

Since ZINARA took over management of the vehicle license fees, there has been a marked decline in the quality of roads in Harare.

To make matters worse, the local authority has been receiving paltry allocations for road repairs and in 2016, ZINARA disbursed $1, 3 million against an annual demand of between $40-$70 million.

ZINARA’s role has simply been to cripple the Harare City Council as far as maintenance of the capital city’s road network is concerned.

In 2009, it was reported that the City of Harare collected $10 million a year from road vehicle license fees and that money would go towards road maintenance. Given the increasing vehicle population in the capital, it is possible that council by now could be collecting the required annual amount of between $40-$70 million for road maintenance.

The fact of the matter here is that we cannot expect much from the Harare City Council on road maintenance when they have very little resources being allocated to them.

The Combined Harare Residents Association reiterates its position that ZINARA has no business managing vehicle license fees and this must be the sole responsibility of the Harare City Council.

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