Source: Chinhoyi fails to utilise Zinara fuel allocations – herald
Conrad Mupesa
Mashonaland West Bureau
CHINHOYI Municipality is under fire from residents and road users after it emerged that it failed to utilise road maintenance funds and fuel allocations disbursed by the Zimbabwe National Roads Authority in 2025.
Residents claim that there is poor planning and accountability at the local authority.
The ZINARA disbursements report as of 30 September 2025 showed that Chinhoyi Municipality was allocated ZiG 6 977 844 for road maintenance in 2025, but had utilised only ZiG 3 048 138, which is 44 percent.
Combined Chinhoyi Residents Association chairperson Tendai Musonza blasted the council, saying the poor performance showed the incompetence of the local authority.
“How can council fail to utilise the funds after having been blacklisted for four years? The roads in the town aren’t passable and require seriousness from the leadership,” he said.
“How can meaningful road works be undertaken without fuel, particularly in a town where road deterioration has become a daily reality?”
Motorists also condemned the council for failing to attend to the roads, which they said had ballooned their fuel maintenance costs.
The road users and residents are frustrated over the deteriorating state of roads across the town, which is characterised by potholes and eroded surfaces.
After failing to account for its fuel allocation in 2021, the council is also coming under fire for the handling of its fuel allocation, which is a critical input in road maintenance operations.
Chinhoyi was allocated 10 880,68 litres of fuel last year, but failed to draw down even a single litre, resulting in a zero percentage utilisation rate, which is in sharp contrast with other local councils in the province.
The ZINARA disbursement report showed that Norton Town Council had utilised 76 percent of its allocation, while Kadoma Municipality used over 55 percent of its fuel.
Elsewhere, the Nyaminyami Rural District Council used 62 percent of its fuel allocation which it used to transform roads at Siakobvu Business Centre.
On average the province utilised 64 percent of its fuel allocation.
However, Chinhoyi’s acting town clerk, Engineer Simon Marara, dismissed suggestions that the municipality lacked the capacity to manage funds or consumables, arguing that the figures do not fully reflect operational realities on the ground.
Eng Marara said the council remains capable of handling financial resources and stocks such as fuel, adding that internal systems are in place to ensure accountability and effective utilisation.
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