Mwinyi vows to upgrade Pemba’s roads, infrastructure investments
ZANZIBAR: PRESIDENT Hussein Mwinyi has reassured residents and investors in Pemba that the government is fully committed to improving roads including inland and feeder roads.
He said the roads will be constructed to the tarmac level. President Mwinyi made the pledge during the inauguration of a 10-kilometre road connecting Micheweni–Kiuyu-Maziwa Ng’ombe, Micheweni–Shumba Urban and Bandarini in Micheweni District, North Pemba Region.
“We have decided to upgrade almost all roads in the country because better roads accelerate development,” Dr Mwinyi said, adding that the government also has a special programme to install streetlights on all roads built to the tarmac level across the country.
President Mwinyi also decried the growing tendency of building on road reserves with the expectation of receiving hefty compensation from the government during expansion, saying that the practice is unacceptable.
Dr Mwinyi instructed the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communication and Transport to ensure that houses encroaching road reserves are cleared/demolished to leave the spaces clear for infrastructure development.
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He further called on local councils to manage the issue and curb the issuance of unregulated construction permits near roads.
Regarding increasing food prices in Pemba, Dr Mwinyi explained that the government has decided to develop seaports of Mkoani, Shumba Urban and Mkoani to enable goods from abroad to be transported directly to Pemba, “This move is expected to reduce transportation cost and hence avoid unnecessary prices hike by importers,” he said.
Dr Mwinyi emphasised that the contractor who built the Mkoani seaport will also be tasked with the construction of Shumba Urban and Wete ports, insisting that the work will begin soon.
Presenting the technical report on road construction, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communication and Transport, Dr Habiba Hassan, stated that the construction of the 10-kilometre road is part of the implementation of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Manifesto 2020–2025.
