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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter

GOVERNMENT allocated $16 billion to the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) for rehabilitation of roads countrywide under the Emergency Roads Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP 2) but two thirds of the fund is lying idle with only three months before the close of the current roads rehabilitation programme.

Zinara’s mandate is to collect funds and disburse them to roads authorities namely District Development Fund (DDF), Department of Roads, urban local authorities and rural district councils.

The four roads authorities have only claimed 30 percent of the funds with the rest lying idle in Zinara coffers. This came out during a panel discussion at the ongoing public

procurement conference being hosted by the Procurement Regulatory Authority (PRAZ) in Victoria Falls.

PRAZ and Zinara had been blamed for delaying procurement processes towards awarding tenders for roads rehabilitation, when it is the road funds that have a snail pace in implementing projects as some of them

have been reportedly sitting on funds without disbursing them for roads maintenance.

Responding to concerns about delays in implementing road projects by roads authorities, Zinara chief executive Mr Nkosinathi Ncube said the Government allocated $16 billion to the authority for disbursement to various roads authorities who have only claimed about 30 percent of it.

“Funds are there and Zinara does not control road authorities and we have no direct contact with contractors,” he said.

“We were allocated $16 billion, which was supposed to be disbursed to roads authorities but by 30 September they had claimed only 30 percent of it,” said Mr Ncube.