HARARE City Council (HCC) and the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) have resolved to smoke the peace pipe following clashes over the poor state of roads in the capital.
This came out during an engagement meeting that was held between senior managers of both HCC and Zinara at Town House on Monday.
The opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC)-run local authority has been accusing Zinara of failing to disburse enough funds for roads rehabilitation in the capital.
Zinara has, meanwhile, been accusing HCC of failing to utilise its allocated funds.
During the meeting, both parties agreed to be transparent and accountable in the disbursement and utilisation of funds to improve the road network in the city.
Speaking during the meeting, Harare mayor Jacob Mafume said the local authority was committed to working with Zinara.
“We are also asking the public to bear with us as we work out these modalities with urgency,” Mafume said.
“It is my hope that this engagement will work quickly for noticeable changes on the ground once they (Zinara) deal with the issues that we have raised. We must not politicise the issue.”
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Zinara board chairperson George Manyaya confirmed the meeting.
“We asked to meet the Harare City Council so that we clarify certain issues and we found each other. The new Zinara is built on the principles of transparency and accountability of public funds and we believe as part of our stakeholders the road authorities need to know what we collect and disburse and we share that,” Manyaya said.
“We appreciate the maturity and professionalism exhibited by the entire team and the common goal to ensure that we deliver. We have taken note of the concerns.”
Mafume also called for a stakeholder meeting with road authorities to review the 2002 World Bank formula used to calculate disbursements.
