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Dete residents during the protest last Thursday

Leonard Ncube , Victoria Falls Reporter
DETE residents demonstrated against Hwange Rural District Council (HRDC) last Thursday, complaining about the poor state of roads in the area.

Last November, HRDC, under which Dete falls, put heaps of gravel on some roads as it planned to embark on a rehabilitation exercise.

The local authority however abandoned the project, leaving the gravel and uncovered trenches which residents now say pose a danger to them.

Scores of residents from Ntuya, Bote, Soweto and Hlalani Kuhle suburbs including Zanu-PF youths took to the streets to express their displeasure.

The Chronicle visited the area on Thursday and noticed that streets were barricaded by heaps of gravel while some trenches had also been dug on roadsides.

Dete Residents Association chairman Mr Douglas Mpofu said council had abandoned the area.

“They dumped gravel on every street saying they would finish in two weeks but up to now the heaps are still there. People can’t drive to their houses and it’s an inconvenience as they have to park elsewhere. There have been cases of children falling into trenches,” said Mr Mpofu.

A resident of Mtuya suburb Mrs Sithokozile Moyo said: “We have a challenge as we have to monitor our children every time so they don’t play in dirty water or drown. Water accumulates in yards because it can’t drain away yet we can’t even move the gravel because they have threatened to arrest us.”

Another resident Mr Shepherd Dube said residents were now having transport problems.

“It’s difficult now to go into the business centre because of lack of transport. There also used to be a bus that would come into the suburbs but it has since stopped because of the state of roads,” he said.

HRDC CEO Mr Phindile Ncube said funds from the Zimbabwe National Road Administration were exhausted before the project was completed.

He could not be drawn into giving details about the tender for the project, how much was received and how much was needed for the project.

Instead he dismissed residents’ concerns as being politically motivated.

“Those are not genuine concerns. There are people positioning themselves for political gains. We get funding from Zinara and it got finished hence we will discuss this at our full council meeting on Tuesday,” he said.

@ncubeleon