Cabinet yesterday resolved that all roads in Zimbabwe be declared a state of disaster after noting that noted that due to extensive damage on roads, some areas have been rendered inaccessible.
Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said necessary legal procedures to give effect to the declaration is being worked on.
“The Declaration will facilitate the release of resources for the repair and rehabilitation of all roads that require such works,” Mutsvangwa said.
“The restorative works will cover all urban areas as well as the rural and trunk roads.”
Cabinet’s decision on roads comes at a time when Zimbabwe witnessed travellers failing reach destinations with current rains cutting off systems.
Zimbabwe’s 2020/2021 rainfall season has been above average and with poor drainage systems in urban areas water floods the streets
The state of road infrastructure, littered with potholes and cracks, has also been blamed for vehicle accidents in the Southern African nation.
There have also been reports of bridges being flooded with water and this has resulted in the loss of life as travellers get washed away risking to cross flooded rivers.
Mutsvangwa said the roads’ state of affairs has adversely affected socio-economic activities such as the distribution of food and inputs and the delivery of important services.
The Minister also said the declaration will also pave way for the standardisation of quality under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development.
The last time the government made such a decision was in early 2017 when former President Robert Mugabe declared a state of disaster on Harare’s roads and the related infrastructure through the Government Gazette.
Zimbabwe has 88,100 km of classified roads and 17,400 km of which are paved according to a report by the African Development Bank (AFDB).