Tiyani Hahlani
Centre News Hub
Nyika-BIKITA Rural District Council has demonstrated that limited equipment need not stand in the way of road development, using partnerships with other government road authorities to exceed its maintenance targets and attract praise from Parliament.
The Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development recently commended the council after a field verification visit to assess the utilisation of ZINARA funds and fuel allocations for road infrastructure development.
Bikita RDC has a 1,389.1-kilometre district road network and completed 265km of road grading, bush clearing and spot gravelling in 2025 against a target of 196km.
The council also reported 100 percent utilisation of its ZWG$4,030,657.18 ZINARA allocation, while fuel utilisation reached 162 percent, with 10,400 litres received against an allocation of 6,400 litres.
Speaking with the chief executive officer, Engineer Arnold Mtuke said the achievement was largely driven by partnerships that allowed the council to supplement its limited equipment.
“In terms of achieving more with the little equipment we have, we have been utilising partnerships with other road authorities, mainly the Department of Roads and RIDA,” said Mtuke.
He said the council requests additional equipment from the authorities whenever it procures or receives fuel for road maintenance.
“This has enabled us to do more kilometres of maintenance than what we have planned,” he said.
Mtuke said the partnerships had helped the council consistently exceed its roadwork targets and demonstrated the value of coordinated government intervention.
“These partnerships have seen us exceeding our targets, and we will continue to utilise this arrangement, which is a testament to how the whole-of-government approach can benefit the district,” he said.
The council has already managed to undertake more than 230km of road grading and spot gravelling this year.
The programme has also included pothole patching, installation of road signage and construction of drainage structures.
Bikita RDC is now seeking to strengthen its own capacity through the planned procurement of a motorised grader.
“We have also planned the procurement of a motorised grader to complement council equipment and replace aged equipment, and we hope to have it before the end of the year,” Mtuke said.
The council currently has one functional tipper truck and two TLBs, while a tractor, trailer and motorised grader are under repair.
The Parliament committee encouraged Bikita RDC to maintain its collaboration with RIDA, the Ministry of Roads and neighbouring local authorities as it works to improve road infrastructure.
For a district with more than 1,300km of roads, the council’s approach offers a practical lesson in stretching limited resources while working towards stronger in-house capacity.
The planned acquisition of a new motorised grader could further reduce the equipment gap and give Bikita RDC greater capacity to maintain its extensive road network.
Bikita Resident and Rate Payers Association has commended council for the great work in road rehabilitation and maintenance.
“We hail our local authority for the good work in road infrastructure development and utilisation of funds from Zinara in a transparent and accountable manner. This is what we have been advocating for on issues of Transparency and accountability,” said BIRRA coordinator, Bright Madhuyu.
