Govt, Tongaat seal Tanganda road deal

Minister Joram Gumbo

Tawanda Mangoma in Chiredzi
Government is partnering sugarcane giant — Tongaat Hulett and Green Fuel — to rehabilitate the Ngundu-Tanganda Road. Addressing a meeting here last week, Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Joram Gumbo said Government had already sealed the deal.

“We have received multiple complaints from transporters regarding the state of the Ngundu-Tanganda Road, but I am pleased to notify you that Government has secured a deal with sugar processors, Tongaat Hulett and Green Fuel, towards rehabilitating the road,” he said.

“As most of you know, the road is excessively damaged from Checheche towards Tanganda and Government in this partnership would undertake to rehabilitate 33 kilometres.” Minister Gumbo challenged private companies to partner Government in rehabilitating road networks which had outlived their lifespan.

“It’s not a secret that most of our road networks have outlived their lifespan and we would need to expend over $5,5 billion to rehabilitate the country’s roads,” he said.

“The revenue that Zinara is mobilising is less than $200 million per annum and is not sufficient to cover the maintenance backlog. This is why we are urging road authorities to pursue other innovative strategies such as Private Public Partnerships where applicable and mobilisation of funds from local financial institutions.

“In this new dispensation we have to come up with home grown solutions to our own problems.” The move to rehabilitate the Ngundu-Tanganda Road comes after Tongaat Hulett has already started installing modern road signs and pothole filling on the road.