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Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
Government has started rehabilitating the 113-kilometre Lutumba-Tshikwalakwala Road, which links the border town of Beitbridge and Chiredzi District.

The road has not been serviced for over a decade and is among some of the high-priority infrastructure development projects being rolled out by the New Dispensation. The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has since contracted a local company, Glen Wonder Enterprises, to do the civil works and they are already on site carrying out motorised grading.

The company’s managing director Mr Petros Tshuma said they started working on the road a week ago and that they have covered 25km between Lutumba (Ward 5) and Fula area (Ward 3).

He said they expected to complete the project in the next three months.

“We are already on the ground carrying out motorised grading and so far, we have covered 25km,” said Mr Tshuma.

He said the project will also create a number of jobs for these living in surrounding communities.

Mr Tshuma said most workers will be hired during the construction of structures, and that some of the infrastructures will help improve the drainage systems along the road.

The Lutumba-Tshikwalakwala Road cuts across Beitbridge East Constituency and services nine business centres in the district, including Beitbridge Colliery Mine, two clinics, and Tshituripasi Police Station. Beitbridge East Member of Parliament Cde Albert Nguluvhe said the poor state of the road had resulted in perennial transport woes for communities.

“We are grateful to the President (Mnangagwa), who has been pushing for the completion of many outstanding infrastructural development projects, and we are one of the constituencies benefiting from such a noble initiative,” he said.

“It is our hope that in the long term this road gets surfaced (tarred) to enhance the rural development and modernisation programme. -@tupeyo