Mudslides damage Chimanimani roads
Heavy rains keep wreaking havoc in the Eastern Highlands. Due to the heavy downpours mudslides were reported in Chimanimani this week. Most the roads in the district are blocked and other areas inaccessible. The Manicaland provincial development coordinator Mr Edgar Seenza confirms the incidents. He further reports that the Civil Protection Unite is assessing the extent of the damages.
“These heavy rains have on one hand brought hope for farmers and have also brought nightmares to some families who had their properties destroyed by strong winds and floods. The 10 million fund set aside for disaster preparedness is being used to procure fuel, buy food hampers, medicines, tents and other remedies for the affected families. We are above the situation,” he reports to The Manica Post.
Most roads in Chimanimani need to be upgraded following successive years of battering by tropical cyclones. Due to the continuous rains most roads are now very muddy making areas like the Chikukwa scenic route inaccessible. The Kopa-Vimba and Skyline routes are also inaccessible. Last month a man from Chipinge died after the Skyline-Chimanimani road collapsed.
Mudslides damage Chimanimani roads
Motorists struggle along the Birchenough-Tanganda road as incessant rain continue. This happens after the Government of Zimbabwe declared all roads in the country ‘A state of Disaster’. However, the government has already commenced the road rehabilitation programme around Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) has released 860 Million dollars towards this rehabilitation exercise.
More than 49 roads in rural Manicaland are in urgent need of repair and the DDF has assessed 1 307 km of road network in need of rehabilitation. The exercise intensified after the President of Zimbabwe during a state address mentioned that local authorities were to blame for the poor state of conditions in Zimbabwe.
“The performance of our urban local authorities has been extremely disappointing and has left some of our people living in squalid conditions. I have directed relevant ministries to address the challenges. Where corruption occurred, perpetrators will be brought to book,”, he said.