Bulawayo Mayor, David Coltart, has reiterated that local government authorities do not have sufficient financial resources to repair and maintain roads. He made the remarks in response to Information Secretary Nick Mangwana who had argued that the maintenance of city roads falls under the purview of Local Authorities.
Mangwana said since 2000, there has been evidence of serious failure by these Authorities in various service delivery areas, including refuse collection, water treatment and supply, road maintenance, and street lighting. He added:
To alleviate the suffering urban dwellers, Govt started making interventions such as buying chemicals for water treatment, deploying the ERRP2 program for roads and EMA taking charge of refuse collection and the Geopomona Project. There are always celebrations when Council Election Results are announced. Every ratepayer should ask themselves what they are really celebrating; these urban gullies in the picture?
Coltart agreed with Mangwana’s statement that local authorities are responsible for maintaining roads. However, he pointed out that the funds that local authorities used to collect for this purpose are now being collected by the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA). Unfortunately, most of the funds collected by ZINARA do not reach the local government authorities, resulting in insufficient resources for them to effectively carry out their duties and responsibilities. He said:
The responsibility is but in the past local authorities were able to raise money through car licence fees but that money now goes to Zinara and we only get a pittance back. Local authorities need money to repair and maintain roads but cant do so if little money is paid over.
SOURCE : PINDULA
