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Masvingo – Residents in the sprawling high density suburbs of Victoria Range have expressed concern over commuter transport operators who have resorted to charging them US1 per trip to town as a measure of compensating for the poor state of the roads which are pothole infested.
Vic range suburbs have over the years faced poor services ranging from poor roads network which is in bad shape to lack of water and sewer reticulation.
House owners in the area feel duped by unscrupulous housing developers who charged them and paid for the services but failed to avail the amenities as a result of misunderstandings between the developers and the local authority.
A Victoria Range resident from Jazire area, Thomas Mugumbate said they are facing transport challenges as most commuter transports including Kombis and local mushikashikas popularly known as Zvipipi have abandoned their route.
“This has led to the hiking of commuters fees from 50 cents to 1 dollar per trip, now we are forking out 2 dollars to and from work, so we are in a fix under these challenging economic hardships we face as workers, they say they are charging high fees because the roads are very bad they damage their vehicles,” said Mugumbate.
The roads shape have been worsened by current rains that have damaged them while some residents who manufacture bricks for those building houses are accused of digging and fetching gravel in the roads.
“The rains have worsened the situation and our roads are no longer passable, you see they are huge potholes in the un-tarred roads and some residents are also exacerbating the situation by digging the roads for sand and gravel, “said another resident.
They also claimed that the roads are not serviced and there are no drainage systems hence the rains come and destroy them.
Residents blame the housing developers for duping them when they purchased stands by misleading them that local authorities like Masvingo City Council and Masvingo Rural District Council (MRDC) would provide and maintain roads and other services like water and sewer.
Masvingo city council has since distanced itself from the pledge made saying the housing developers did not pay for those services to be granted despite signing a Memorandum of Agreement. The area still falls under MRDC and it’s not clear why the local authority is not helping with services as well.
Efforts to get a comment from MRDC were fruitless as the Chief Executive Officer, Martin Mubviro did not pick up calls.
The fare hike is not because the drivers want to profit—it’s because vehicles are taking more damage and the trip takes longer.
A commuter omnibus operator, Trinos Mabwe, who spoke to this publication said they were charging exorbitant fees to meet costs of repairing their cars when they get damaged by the poor roads.
“We are charging high fees so that we have extra money to service our vehicles when they get damaged, the roads are too bad and we face serious challenges to service our vehicles, we always take them for repair , we are also in a tricky situation,” he said
Some of the developers who are accused of duping desperate home seekers include, Vashandi Housing housing cooperative and many others.
