Nkayi counts the cost of poor road network

By Gracious Ndlovu

Residents in Nkayi have expressed grave concern over the state of roads connecting Nkayi to almost every surrounding town and district, including Bulawayo, Gokwe and Lupane.

The roads leading into and out of Nkayi are among the worst roads in the Matabeleland region and are characterized by enormous potholes on almost barely noticeable remains of what seem to be one lane strip roads and dust roads. In keeping with the rot, there are dilapidated road signs that long ceased to be functional, particularly on the Bulawayo-Nkayi road. The state of the roads has been described by Nkayi residents as the main reason why Nkayi remains as one of the least developed districts in the country.

Speaking to this publication, Mr Almon Gumpo, a former truck driver from the Komayanga area in Mfanovelayo village noted with concern that Nkayi roads are now a sorry sight despite Nkayi being central and connective to a number of financially important routes in the country, providing a shorter link between a number of the country’s financial hubs. 

“The roads are so bad that vehicle breakdowns have become the order of the day. Nobody  wants to risk their vehicles in these terrible routes anymore and this has an adverse economic impact as companies cannot invest in Nkayi given the state of our roads.As a driver, I can tell you that the shortest route between Victoria Falls and Harare is through Nkayi, rather than Bulawayo. I can also tell you that the shortest route between Gokwe and Bulawayo is via Nkayi rather than Kwekwe, but then everyone will choose the longer routes because of the miserable state of the roads. It is sad that no one will realize that the only way to unlock the potential of Nkayi is through well surfaced highways, so that as locals we can benefit,” he said.

Nkayi has no major natural resources except timber from the famed teak tree which is abundant in the Gwampa forest, but this is not enough to make the district economically competitive, hence Nkayi lags  behind other districts, and in the eyes of many, remains primitive. 

Sources interviewed asserted that Nkayi only needs two well surfaced routes, one connecting Victoria Falls and the capital Harare through Lupane, the other one connecting Gokwe and Bulawayo, both passing through Nkayi, to make it an established market town. 

“Firstly, it does not make sense that one has to travel an average of four hours for a distance as short as 158 kilometers from Nkayi to Bulawayo. The only hope for Nkayi to develop is if she starts to provide services like accommodation, food and refreshment, among other services synonymous with transit cities like Gweru. If only authorities could travel these roads, particularly the Bulawayo-Nkayi and Nkayi-Lupane roads using our normal modes of transport, they would understand the hardships being faced in this marginalized Matabeleland district,” said a local man who could not be drawn to reveal his identity.

Sean Lunga, a youth in Nkayi Centre said that the rehabilitation of roads in Nkayi is long overdue.

“We don’t know why such important issues remain ignored. If Nkayi routes are rehabilitated, trucks and ferry coaches from different places surrounding Nkayi would use these routes bringing imports from Zambia, for example, making them available in Nkayi for trading and retail. Also, maize, cotton, tobacco and other farm produce that are transported from Gokwe through Kwekwe would be easily accessed in Nkayi. Another simple reason is that Nkayi needs to be connected to the rest of Matabeleland province so as to improve in trade, sport, and everything else. There is no road connecting us to the provincial capital, Lupane,” said Lunga.