Zinara council allocations up  300 percent Dr Ignatius Chombo
Dr Ignatius Chombo

Dr Ignatius Chombo

Business Editor
THE Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) has increased allocations of money to local authorities by a record 312 percent to facilitate improved maintenance and rehabilitation of roads.

Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister, Ignatius Chombo revealed the new development during his meeting with local authorities in Bulawayo on Friday.

“My ministry acknowledges the support that local authorities are getting from Zinara through the disbursement of road funds. Through a rigorous engagement process with the relevant ministry and Zinara, I am happy to note that they have already increased allocation of funds to local authorities by a record 312 percent from the previous figures,” said Minister Chombo.

He urged the 92 local authorities to reciprocate the gesture ensuring judicious use of the resources to improve the road network.

“Work plans should be submitted on time while acquittals should be done as scheduled,” he said.

The bulk of the country’s road network both rural and urban, is in a sorry state, a situation that has drawn the ire of the motoring public. The poor state of roads is also blamed for rising road carnage.

Zinara is a statutory body empowered to collect road fees from different streams covering toll fees, fuel levy, vehicle licences, transit, abnormal and overload fees.

Most of the funds collected by Zinara are disbursed to road authorities that include the Department of Roads managed by provincial road engineers, urban councils and local boards, Rural District Councils (RDCs) and the District Development Fund (DDF).

The Department of Roads benefits fully from toll fees collection for toll road maintenance and from other sources for routine maintenance.

There are four types of disbursements under Zinara. These are routine maintenance, periodic maintenance, and emergency and special projects fund.

According to Zinara, disbursement and allocation of funds may be based on any one or more of the following criteria: a basic percentage split of the total money available among roads of different classes and a formulation which takes into account the class of the road, its length, width, surface type and the traffic levels on the road.

Other considerations are identifying needs based on the condition of the road network, nature of maintenance work to be carried out and whether period or routine maintenance work. Latest records from Zinara indicate the country’s vehicle population now stands at 1,2 million, up from about 800, 000.

Zinara has said there has been a mismatch on the number of vehicles on the country’s roads and those paying licence fees.

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