Zim’s pothole problems getting bigger
At the moment, every day is a rainy day in most parts of the country, bringing relief and despair at the same time.
The relief is obvious: it means there will be a bumper harvest, plenty of grass for livestock and lots of water for both animals and humans.
However, with each raindrop, the potholes that plague our roads get wider and deeper, while in some cases roads and bridges get washed away altogether.
Most Zimbabwe roads are in a state of disrepairs because of poor maintenance over the years.
Loyal readers of this column will no doubt be aware I have written about Zim’s widespread pothole problems several times before.
But this year it is especially bad. Vehicles have been damaged and continue to be wrecked on the roads as a result of the gaping craters.
A journey that is normally a few hours can now take several hours as drivers try to carefully manoeuvre the ruined roads without damaging their vehicles.
Following a public outcry on the state of the roads, the Ministry of Transport issued a statement on Tuesday calling on citizens to report potholes, a move that has been widely condemned and viewed as the worst approach possible in dealing with the crisis.
The truth is that potholes in major urban areas are bare for all to see and there is truly no need for the ministry to pretend otherwise as if they don’t use the very same roads.
Why not start by fixing potholes in the major roads so citizens can see that they really mean business?
Once they do that, then we can report the inner roads with no qualms. Because with their approach of saying people should report to the ministry, it’s like they want to shift the blame to the people; down the line in the future, they will turn around and claim no one reported yet we use the same roads.
Of course in low density areas it might not be that bad but the truth is most major roads are in a terrible state.
For some quick-thinking entrepreneurs, the bad roads present an opportunity to make a few cents; they have now taken it upon themselves to ‘fix’ the roads by filling the potholes with sand and rubble, then asking motorists to pay a token of appreciation.
And I guess they do get something as some of them now have permanent spots.
Anyway we shall see if this reporting yields any positive results.
I have my doubts but I will also report the potholes that I encounter daily on my way to Bulawayo’s Central Business District to see how the powers-that-be respond and the time they take to fix them.
Until then, I will park my car and use public transport or else I will have no car to talk about if I continue risking the roads in my little motor.
