The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development, Promotion and Preservation of National Culture and Heritage, George Magosvongwe, said that his ministry is meeting challenges, chief amongst them being resources. He was speaking during a program for the Mid-Term Review of 100 Days Of Easy of Doing Business workshop held at the Rainbow Towers Hotel yesterday.
The permanent secretary of the ministry, which is responsible for developing the 60 districts of Zimbabwe, has also been facing some challenges in accessing vehicles for its own workers. The other challenges that the ministry is facing are in ICT and also in human development according to the permanent secretary.
According to Magosvongwe, his Ministry showed no record of a plan to surface the tarred roads this year.
“All our rural authorities are going to fix (dust) roads,” said the Permanent Secretary. According to the Magosvongwe Funds for infrastructure development have already been set aside by the government. Most of the rural roads in Zimbabwe are not yet tarred and drivers have always complained about potholes on the few tarred roads in the country.
Despite these challenges, the Permanent Secretary acknowledged the resilience by the District Administrators (DA) and RuralDistrict Council Chief Executive Officers, who continuously drive government programs in various areas.
“The role that you have played in coordinating the command agriculture programme, Civil Protection Programmes and Drought Relief Programmes should be commended. It is through such programmes that our people’s livelihoods can be uplifted and improved,” Magosvongwe said .
Magosvongwe urged the DAs and the CEOs to carry out Road Infrastructure Assessment and submit reports on the state of roads and bridge infrastructure. The country has witnessed many bridges and roads being destroyed due to natural disasters such as floods and also due to lack of proper maintenance.
The provinces gave an update of what they have already done during the first 50 days. The presenters, from different provinces, complained about poor the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation waves in many regions of the country.
