HUNGER is to blame for the government’s failure to complete the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road whose rehabilitation started 21 years ago, Vice-President Joice Mujuru said yesterday. NQOBANI NDLOVU STAFF REPORTER
Mujuru said billions meant for the road were used to feed hungry Zimbabweans.
The road – whose construction begun in 1993 and was supposed to have been completed by 2009 – has been at the centre of debate over the underdevelopment of Matabeleland.
Currently less than 50km of the nearly 170km road has been widened and resurfaced.
Addressing a Zanu PF Bulawayo women’s league inter-district conference held at the Bulawayo Polytechnic, Mujuru said as long as hunger stalked the nation, it would be difficult to complete construction of the road.
“For how many years have we been talking about the construction of the Nkayi Road? Do we ever think of the Nkayi Road that has been like that for years now?
“The truth is that we have eaten billions that were meant for the road. We have been eating all the monies meant for the Nkayi Road because there was hunger in Zimbabwe,” she said.
The inter-district conference was attended by top national executives of the Zanu PF women’s league, among them boss Oppah Muchunguri, Shuvai Mahofa, Monica Mutsvangwa, Bulawayo Provincial Affairs minister Eunice Sandi-Moyo, Angeline Masuku, Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development minister Sithembiso Nyoni, Minister of State in Mujuru’s office Sylvestor Nguni, central committee and politburo members.
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The conference was held under the theme “Building A Strong Nation By Empowering Women Through ZimAsset”.
Mujuru added: “The monies that were meant for the road were used to buy food and feed the nation . . .
“This is why we are saying let’s focus on agriculture and have food so that the billions that we have been using to import food can be used to complete the Nkayi Road among other capital projects.”
The road is among other several planned road construction projects for Matabeleland that have stalled like the Bulawayo-Kezi and Bulawayo-Tsholotsho roads.
Mujuru said Zimbabweans should strive to make ZimAsset succeed and urged people to ignore those that talk ill of the economic blueprint. She did not mention where money to fund ZimAsset would come from.
“Let us not listen to those that say ZimAsset will not turn around the economy,” she said.
“We did not have a budget when we went to war, but we defeated those that we were fighting and who had a budget, cars and everything.
“You and I have to make it succeed if we are to chase off poverty from our families.”
She urged Zimbabweans to take farming seriously saying it is the backbone of the perceived successful turnaround of the economy.
