THE recent announcement by government to resume rehabilitation of Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road could be what the proverbial doctor had ordered even though more needs to be done in terms of full implementation.
However, the buck does not stop with the above mentioned highway but special mention also goes to Lupane-Nkayi-Kwekwe as well Bulawayo-Nkayi roads whose rehabilitation had been shoved to the back burner for several years.
Tongai Mnangagwa, deputy minister of Environment and Tourism recently told tourism players and stakeholders that the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway was headed for a facelift as part of efforts on promoting the country's travelling and touring industry.
“What is happening now is that we are consolidating and putting resources together so the contractor can go ground and commence work.
"We managed to appoint companies to work on those roads and soon within a month you will see a lot of progress. Patching has been done to the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road but we need more than patching,” said Mnangagwa, speaking on the sidelines of Sanganayi/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo 2024.
The prestigious tourism event was held from September 12-14 this year in Bulawayo and drew about 80 buyers from countries around the world who were reportedly thrilled by some tourist facilities found in Zimbabwe.
The Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway is among key economic enablers within the tourism industry and particular emphasis is on the Hwange National Park, which is the country's largest animal sanctuary as well as the world famous Victoria Falls.
Several government officials have in the past expressed concern over gradual deterioration of this particular road which is now a nightmare to the travelling public hence giving rise to so called human traffic conflict.
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The travelling public has, however, expressed skepticism over government's recent announcement concerning the above mentioned road which has in the past experienced numerous false starts despite much enthusiasm from powers that be.
This announcement recent nearly cost Yours Truly a permanent imbibing seat at Hwange's drinking outlet popularly known as "ku security council" after defending the deputy minister's statement on rehabilitation of Bulawayo-Victoria Falls route.
Yours Truly was accused of pandering to the whims of politicians whose favourite "soon" lexicon no longer has any takers due to lack of coordinated timeframe and implementation.
Other fellow imbibers were also of the opinion that the familiar "soon" has in the past been foisted upon them concerning completion of Lupane-Nkayi-Kwekwe road which is considered to be shortest route to Harare from the former.
The other roads included Bulawayo-Tsholotsho road which has been reduced to an eyesore as some transporters are reported to have shunned the lucrative route due to prohibitive vehicle maintainance costs associated with using the particular road.
The same also applies to Bulawayo-Nkayi road which has also encountered numerous false starts in terms of reconstructing the 160 km which has seen several deadlines being missed much to the chagrin of travelling public.
As for the much anticipated rehabilitation of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway, it remains to be seen if government, through respective ministries, is going to follow through to ensure that this particular road is attended "soon".
However, Yours Truly is of the opinion that this time around some form of action will be taken and in the process prove naysayers wrong in terms of project implementation. Together we can continue putting the country's tourism industry on the world map.
Till we meet again in the next column.
*Comments always welcome at: dubebasill@gmail.com or X@DubeBurzil
