British South Africa Company: Department of Roads
British South Africa Company
Department of Roads
The Department of Roads was established in 1895. Operating as a sub-section of the Public Works Department and administered by the Secretary for Mines and Roads, the Roads Department was given the onerous task of constructing and maintaining roads throughout the country.
The task was to prove very difficult to fulfil mainly because, for many years, the department remained underfunded and possessed neither the necessary manpower nor the required road construction equipment. It accomplished little before the First World War.
Nine years after its formation, the department had no more than a handful of European employees comprising the Engineer in charge, one Inspector stationed in Matabeleland and six Overseers. The total number of native African labourers who were expected to service the entire country was approximately 240 people.
In 1914, the department had a total transport fleet of only 39 scotch carts and 89 mules. Because of inadequate resources, the department managed to establish only a few earth roads and had built a total of only seven footbridges.
The unsatisfactory condition of the country’s roads at this time was strongly deplored by the settler farming community at its 1911 Convention held in Umtali, where several speakers complained about the unprofessional manner in which the Roads Department conducted its business and the generally unserviceable state of the nation’s roads. It was pointed out that inexperienced and unqualified people were appointed to the department and were left to do as they pleased without any meaningful supervision, and that road construction and maintenance work was being carried out in a half-hearted and haphazard manner.
In a bid to encourage district authorities to contribute their fair share to the road construction programme, the government passed the Road Councils Ordinance in 1921.