We have received with great appreciation news that you have declared the road situation in Harare a state of emergency. We are particularly thrilled that you will seek the intervention of the President of the Republic and the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the problem is addressed with the urgency it deserves.
We would, however, like to point out that the road problem in Harare has deteriorated over the last five years largely due to non-maintenance by the Harare City Council. We firmly believe that in order to find a lasting solution to the roads problem in Harare, you need to push for and support our call to return the management of Vehicle license fees to the city council from the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA).
In 2009, it was estimated that the City collected about USD 10 million a year and this money was available for use on road maintenance. Since ZINARA took this function there has been a marked decline in the quality of roads in Harare.
Due to the increasing car population in Harare, this figure has most likely increased to close to USD 50 million. Sadly, this comes against an annual allocation of USD 1,3 million from ZINARA to the City of Harare and by September 2016 the City reported a disbursement of less than USD 600.00. Â We are sure Hon. Minister that you are aware that this figure is hardly enough to service our roads.
Put simply, ZINARA is the cause of the problems we see in our roads in Harare. They simply have no role in the collection of local user fees and must devolve this function to the City.
We concede that the City still has a lot to do and in fact with little resources available to it there may be little to show. The City needs to develop a comprehensive plan that addresses the rehabilitation of the road network.
Yours sincerely,
SIMBARASHE MOYO
 Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) Chairperson
Harare Metropolitan Province Residents Forum (HAMREF) Co-Chairperson
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