Gwebi River Bridge officially opened to traffic

The new bridge built over the Gwebi River along the Old Mazowe Road to the new Parliament building, the venue for the 44th SADC Heads of State Summit, was on Monday officially opened to traffic, giving a boost to the preparations for the hosting of the regional meeting.

The new bridge is an upgrade from a low-level crossing which was impassable, especially during the rainy season.

The government is rehabilitating three main access roads leading to the venue of the Summit, the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden, including the internal circulation roads.

These include the Harare-Chirundu Road, Harare-Kanyemba Road and the Old Mazowe Road.

Officially opening the bridge and the completed section of Old Mazoe Road to traffic, Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Felix Mhona said the projects were not being done to impress delegates coming for the Summit.

“Yes, people might be talking of SADC coming, but to us, we say SADC is an event, it will come and go, but our infrastructure will stay forever.

And we are witnessing this wonderful road that we are opening today, to us, we are saying to the contractor, we want 20 years minimum, where the road will be trafficable, we’ll just be maintaining the road. But what is amazing is what we are doing as a nation,” he said.

He said the government was not only focusing on Harare roads, but the whole country.

“We are witnessing this. This is just the beginning of greater things.

We know that in any given economy, you need a good road, which is an economic enabler, and we are happy this is what we are pursuing as a Ministry,” he said.

Mhona commended President Mnangagwa’s administration for prioritizing infrastructure projects.

“We are financing our own infrastructure, using our domestic resources,” he said.

Speaking at the same occasion, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere said the commissioning of the new roads was in line with Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 1, which prioritises the utilities and infrastructure pillar.

“But what is of great importance is that so much has been achieved within a short space of time. Ever since His Excellency the President, Dr Mnangagwa, assumed the Presidency in 2017, 7 000 projects have been commissioned across the country, thereby ensuring that we leave no one and no place behind,” he said.

On the country’s readiness to host the SADC Summit next month, Dr Muswere said preparations have reached the final stages.

“We are in the final stages and we are very confident and the progress that has been achieved is very satisfactory. And as I have indicated the construction of the roads is just a coincidence that Vision 2030 takes into consideration the paramount importance of infrastructure across the country. But in terms of SADC, we are ready to host the SADC Summit,” he said.

Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association president Dr Tinashe Manzungu commended the government for giving local contractors a chance to build infrastructure including the newly opened road.

“So we look forward to more of this. We are saying we are ready to tackle the task as local contractors,” he said. – New Ziana