The Zimbabwean government has appealed to China for a credit facility to buy more road construction equipment from the Asian nation, according to local news agency New Ziana on Monday .
Transport, Communication and Infrastructural Development Minister Nicholas Goche said Zimbabwe needs a Chinese loan at concessionary interest rates for purchase of the equipment to help rehabilitate most of the country's dilapidated roads.
"I asked the Chinese ambassador to arrange that we discuss with his government for more favorable terms to purchase road construction equipment," he said.
Goche said this when addressing a ceremony to commission 2.7 million U.S. dollars worth of road construction equipment bought by the Zimbabwe National Road Authority (ZINARA) from China recently.
Goche noted that the 2.7 million dollars worth of equipment wasbought for cash from the little resources that ZINARA generated from the levy it charged on fuel.
He said the process to arrange the negotiations had already started, noting that it was imperative for Zimbabwe to maintain trunk roads since the country occupied a strategic position in the SADC and COMESA regions.
He said any bottlenecks in the country's road network had a detrimental effect to these regions.
"The network provides a link into Durban, Maputo, Trans Limpopo, Mid Zambezi valley and is very central to the North-South Corridor," he said, adding the ministry had ambitious programmes to keep the country's roads in good state.
He said the current deplorable state of roads was a result of economic challenges that the country experienced over the past few years, which rendered it costly to maintain them.
Introduction of multiple currencies had since made collections by ZINARA more meaningful to enable road maintenance programmes throughout the country to resume, the minister said.
He, however, noted that shortage of equipment and funds was preventing the process from moving faster.
The commissioned equipment comprised six graders, six tipper trucks and two water bowsers. Four more tipper trucks and one water bowser from the same consignment were expected in the country soon.
In May last year, the government commissioned another consignment of road construction equipment bought from China, which comprised three tractors, five compactors, two water trailers, two concrete mixers, four dampers, one disc harrows, four motor graders and two front end loaders.
The Zimbabwe government adopted the "Look East" policy as part of efforts to overcome effects of the Western imposed sanctions that have ruined the country's once prosperous economy.
So far transport and communications, agriculture and mining are among a wide range of sectors that have received equipment from countries such as China, India, Iran and Malaysia. |
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