ZINARA Road Funding Model Not Working, Says Harare Mayor

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Harare Mayor, Councilor Jacob Mafume has castigated the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) vehicle licensing model saying it is not working in terms of addressing challenges in the roads sector.

According to the latest funding disbursement report issued by ZINARA on Sunday, 22 January 2023, Harare Metropolitan Province received the highest funding of $1.73 billion towards road rehabilitation and maintenance in 2022.

In a statement, Mayor Mafume said the formation of the authority saw the beginning of problems in the repair and maintenance of roads.

“The establishment of the Zimbabwe Roads Administration Authority ZINARA led to the transfer of the vehicle licensing portfolio from local authorities to the statutory body.That is when the problems of failure to repair and maintain roads and the attendant infastructure began and the results are visible on the ground for all to see.

“Let me put it on record that the ZINARA model is not working, it needs a relook if as a country and as a people we are serious about addressing the challenges in the roads sector. The responsible authorities and the members of Parliament must take heed of the calls by local authorities and residents to reform the ZINARA model. It is not working!” Mafume said.

He said the city fathers had targeted to rehabilitate 40km but due to financial constraints they only managed just over 12 km.

“To illustrate the sad state of affairs in the Roads sector we had a target of 40 km road rehabilitation and because of funding constraints we only managed to do 12.5km rehabilitation and in terms of routine maintenance our target was 450 km and on this one we managed to do 436km using funds from City Parking Pvt Ltd and the budget provision.

“If ZINARA funds were allocated during the first Quarter of the year, we could have done over 89 km of Road Reseal, 52 km of Overlay and 20 km of Road Reconstruction. The last disbursement made in December 2022 meant that we could only do 15 km of reseal, 8 km of overlay and 3 km of Reconstruction.” Mafume said.