Zinara earmarks ZiG11,6bn for road rehab
THE Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) has earmarked ZiG11,6 billion for the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme 2 (ERRP2) this year.
This marks a significant increase from ZiG4,6 billion disbursed under the same programme last year.
The allocation was detailed in ZINARA’s disbursement report of December 31, 2024.
In the report, the road administration authority said it had earmarked ZiG11,6bn for road rehabilitation and was making provisions for a further 2 million litres of fuel.
“ZINARA has set aside a proposed budget of ZiG11.6 billion for financial disbursements for the year and will continue with the momentum to capacitate road authorities to draw down their annual budgets effectively. ZINARA has also made provisions for a further 2 million litres of fuel to add to the financial disbursements.
“Further to these disbursements, ZINARA will continue to provide technical support through periodic refresher training as well project support by the ZINARA Provincial Engineers. With the receipt of the 2025 road maintenance plans and programmes of work from all 94 Road Authorities, preparations are already underway for the first-quarter disbursements to support these projects.”
The ZINARA report highlights the initial and revised budget allocations for the year and the amounts accessed by the road authorities from the first to the last quarter of the year.
It also details the fuel allocated and accessed during that period, reflecting a marked improvement in the uptake of allocated disbursements.
“Total disbursements for the year closed at ZiG4,6billion. This was driven by enhanced collections through improved revenue assurance mechanisms in place, as well as the increased project scope of special public interest projects undertaken over the year which required more funding.”
According to ZINARA, a total of 53 out of the 94 Road Authorities utilised over 90 percent of their budgets, with 15 utilising 100 percent of their allocations.
Mashonaland East Province topped the leaderboard with 95 percent, followed by Matabeleland South Province with 92 percent and then Harare Metropolitan Province with 90 percent budget utilisation.
“This is a remarkable new standard which speaks to improved project Implementation and acquittal systems by the Road Authorities. It is also attributed to the enhanced support being rendered to Road Authorities through the ZINARA Provincial Engineers, as well as the periodic training programmes facilitated by ZINARA.
“With regards to fuel disbursements, ZINARA piloted fuel disbursements in the year under review. This is in addition to the financial disbursement budgets already allocated. Over 1.9 million litres of fuel was disbursed to all Road Authorities. During the year under review, 20 of the Road Authorities successfully drew down their full allocations. The budgeted fuel for the year was 2 million litres,” ZINARA said.
It further said that this initiative was well received by Road Authorities as it directly resolved a critical operational challenge they had been facing in terms of procuring fuel for their road maintenance activities.
“With the fuel on hand, the Road Authorities were better equipped to use their equipment for some of the road works and this went a long way to improve the scope of the maintenance works they were able to undertake.”
ZINARA said road funds are allocated to road authorities by the disbursement formula prescribed in the Road Act.
The road authorities are appraised of their respective budget allocations and based on these figures; they submit proposals for their projects in their respective jurisdictions.
These are subsequently reviewed by ZINARA and due approval processes are undertaken.
At the fund’s disbursement stage, money is dispatched at two levels, the first is for routine maintenance which is an advance disbursement done quarterly. This is accessed after the authorities have fulfilled several processes, chief among them being acquitting for funds previously issued to them.
The second level is for periodic maintenance. This is issued upon submission of Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs) following project implementation. It is for specific major maintenance projects which are not expected to be recurring.
In addition to disbursing these funds, ZINARA also provides technical monitoring and evaluation support to road authorities through the ZINARA Provincial Road Engineers.
This support serves to enable road authorities to effectively complete their projects and submit the requisite acquittals timeously ahead of the next disbursement. This same process applies to fuel disbursements.
Fuel is issued quarterly and upon submission of acquittals of the previously accessed fuel allocations.
According to ZINARA, the year 2024 saw a giant leap towards the achievement of Vision 2030 in terms of road rehabilitation and maintenance.
“Overall, Road Authorities achieved 122 percent of their planned works, surpassing the initial national target of 30 000km and reaching a soaring 37 000km mark. This is against the prior year’s achievement of 23 000km of road maintained.
“Some of the key projects undertaken in the year 2024 include part of the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road rehabilitation project, Nyanga-Ruwangwe resurfacing project, Shurugwi-Mhandamabwe 42km road rehabilitation, Golden Valley-Sanyati Road project and the greater Harare Roads projects among others.”-herald
