President Emmerson Mnangagwa has placed the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway among major roads targeted for rehabilitation during the Fourth Session of Parliament, but the announcement comes as motorists and tourism operators continue to grapple with the consequences of the road’s deteriorating condition.
In his State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, Mnangagwa said Government was targeting 50 kilometres of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway for roadworks during the new parliamentary session.
“The following roadworks are targeted during the 4th Session of the 10th Parliament: completion of the Harare-Beitbridge Road; 30 kilometres of the Harare-Kanyemba Highway; 30 kilometres of the Harare-Nyamapanda Highway; 50 kilometres of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway; 20 kilometres of the Harare-Chirundu Highway; and 40 kilometres of the Kwekwe-Nkayi-Lupane Road,” Mnangagwa said.
The announcement puts the road among a list of nationally significant infrastructure projects, but for motorists using the route between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, the latest commitment comes after months of complaints over travel times, detours and construction delays.
Just days before the President’s address, Hwange East MP Joseph Bonda raised the state of the road in Parliament, saying deteriorating roads were making some communities difficult to reach.
“Practically, driving on Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road at the moment is like pushing a camel through the eye of a needle,” Bonda said.
Bonda said potholes and gullies had also affected his ability to reach communities in his constituency.
“Some communities are no longer reachable due to potholes and gullies that have developed on the roads. That makes it so impossible for me to visit them and actually consult them on my parliamentary duties.”
He called on Government to accelerate road rehabilitation.
“I, therefore, pray that the Government speeds up the refurbishment of the roads to avoid leaving behind the people of Hwange in development projects.”
The concerns raised by Bonda come against a backdrop of repeated Government commitments to rehabilitate the highway.
In another VicFallsLive report earlier this month, a legislator told Parliament that he had spent 15 hours travelling from Bulawayo to Hwange, highlighting the impact of the road’s condition on travel between the two centres.
The highway is not only a route to Victoria Falls.
It is a major corridor serving Hwange’s coal and energy industries, tourism, freight and communities along the route. It also provides access to schools, hospitals, markets and administrative centres for villagers living in the surrounding areas.
The road’s condition is also increasingly becoming a tourism issue.
Some private motorists travelling to Victoria Falls are choosing a longer route through Botswana, travelling via Francistown and Nata before entering the resort city through Kasane, rather than relying on the direct Zimbabwean route.
For tourism operators, the disruption has also affected road-based excursions, with some trips to attractions outside Victoria Falls being suspended because of the condition of the roads.
That means the consequences extend beyond motorists having to endure a longer journey.
For Victoria Falls, a destination whose economy depends heavily on tourism, a difficult road can influence how visitors move around the region, where they spend money and which attractions they are able to access.
Government has previously divided the rehabilitation of the 440-kilometre highway among eight contractors. VicFallsLive reported last week that only less than 60 kilometres had been opened to traffic, while concerns had also emerged over contractor payments and the pace of construction.