By Staff Reporter
The construction and subsequent commissioning of the Kopa Jopa road by President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday has given renewed life impetus to the people of Chimanimani who were cut from the rest of the world due to poor road network.
This was said by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Cde Felix Mhona, on the sidelines of the commissioning of a 23 kilometres road in Chimanimani by President Mnangagwa yesterday.
“The commissioning of this road (Kopa-Jopa) gives me great joy. The initiation of this project was undertaken under the auspices of the disaster recovery which resulted from the devastating effects of Tropical Cyclone Idai. This projects indeed attests the commitment by the Government of the 2nd Republic led by President Mnangagwa to continually improve the livelihoods of Zimbabweans through infrastructure development in the quest to attain an empowered and prosperous Upper Middle Income Society by 2030,”said Minister Mhona.
The Minister added that the the construction of the Kopa –Jopa road restores connectivity between rural Chimanimani and Chipinge town and was thus critical in establishing and maintaining access to health and other essential services.
The Minister further said that the road re-establishes the direct link between farms around Rusitu Valley area and markets from fresh farm produce in Chipinge, Birchenough Bridge and other areas.
Minister Mhona commended the Government for handing back to the community an improved road infrastructure, which would allow for the seamless flow of traffic and cost effective transportation, premised on the ‘build-back-better’ principle.
The Minister added that it was not only the 23 kilometres road stretch that was constructed, but four bridges were upgraded and modernised from a single lane low level standard to a double lane high level standard.
Minister Mhona also commended President Mnangagwa for undertaking major road rehabilitation and construction across the country and added that poor road network undermined the potential of the road transport system to contribute meaningfully to the economic development of the country.
