By Rex Mphisa
Government late payments to contractors have significantly slowed down road construction projects in various parts of the country including the highway between Harare and Bulawayo from Beitbridge, senior government officials heard on Wednesday.
At most sections contractors have withdrawn and wait for payment to resume, an official of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development Engineer Nkomo told the Special Advisor to the President on Monitoring and Implementation Joram Gumbo and Matabeleland South Minister for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Albert Nguluvhe.
Gumbo and Nguluvhe and several senior government and local authorities including Chief Tshitaudze born David Mbedzi were touring outside ports projects done during the US$300 million upgrading of Beitbridge Border Post.
“There has been late payment to contractors which have resulted in work being stopped here and there. Even payments to contract workers has had some challenges. So the companies withdraw and come back when payment was done,” said the official.
Gumbo acknowledged but said only 82 kilometres of the Harare Beitbridge road remained and would soon be done over with.
“It is not an overnight job and we expected it would take this long. We only have 82 kilometres long but it will be done. Government has other projects it also has to look at,” he said.
The road between Beitbridge and Masvingo has detours just after Rutenga, to just after Ngundu just before the Chibi Toll Gate and soon after a stretch as one enters Masvingo town all causing long delays.
Gumbo later addressed the entourage at the Beitbridge Municipality Chambers where he said successful government projects that enable trade and traveling must be celebrated.
He said with the current improvements the border post emerged stronger and swifter.
“We gather to celebrate the successful rollout of flagship offsite infrastructure projects that form the critical backbone of Beitbridge Border Post. This border post has long served as a vital artery for trade and travellers, and today it emerges stronger, swifter and more resilient than ever before.”
He said the Second Republic recorded more than nine thousand strategic milestones across the thematic areas of National Development Strategies.
“Each milestone speaks to our unwavering commitment to attain an upper-middle-income economy by 2030. In that pursuit, Government has prioritised infrastructure and utilities as the cornerstone enablers of socio-economic development,” he said.
He said the Government’s infrastructure agenda is essential to enhancing our economic growth and strengthening our national image.
Beitbridge, he said, as a flagship initiative, has received unprecedented focus, and its upgraded facilities now deliver markedly improved service for cargo and people alike.
“My office has been closely monitoring these developments, not merely to record progress but to demonstrate that under His Excellency President Dr E.D. Mnangagwa, our government is measured by outcomes, not rhetoric. What we see today confirms that turning this border into a beacon of efficiency was never a mere aspiration – it is a reality unfolding before us.
“This project is more than an infrastructure upgrade; it represents a fundamental re-engineering of our national socio-economic arteries. The changes at this state-of-the-art border post set a new benchmark for development, one upon which future generations can build to create a truly world-class gateway,” he said.
“During my previous visits, I observed each phase of this transformation with great interest. I am delighted by the remarkable progress in both onsite and offsite infrastructure. Operational efficiency and service delivery have been significantly enhanced, and this strategic investment resolves long-standing challenges of inadequate facilities and travel delays.”
Gumbo toured the new staff housing units, the modern plant and quarantine centre, which streamlines our biosecurity protocols, from the floating water take viewed a new sewer plant, the Roads department cottages and Beitbridge Fire Station, all out of the border projects from the US$300 million into border upgrade.