Well known British Presenter Jeremy Clarkson has expressed his appreciation for Zimbabwe but not so much for the potholes in that country.
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- Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond were recently in Zimbabwe.
- They filmed an episode of Amazon’s The Grand Tour.
- Clarkson said they loved the country, but the potholes were a turn-off.
The British trio of Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard
Hammond had a great time in Zimbabwe, but they would like some better roads.
The television personalities were recently in Zimbabwe to
film an episode of the Amazon show, The Grand Tour.
Everywhere they went, they dished out what Zimbabwean
journalist Ranga Mberi described as “banter or slander,” including at
the end of the cross-country tour, when Clarkson posted on X, formerly Twitter,
how wonderful a country Zimbabwe was, with that one caveat.
“My profound thanks to the people and government of
Zimbabwe for helping to make a very special Grand Tour special, very special.
We absolutely adored everything about your country. Apart from the potholes,
maybe,” he tweeted.
Clarkson has eight million followers on X, and the potential
to significantly influence perceptions in the UK, an important source of
tourists for much of southern Africa.
He has a history of controversial statements, many of which
landed him in various kinds of trouble.
But the pothole issue goes beyond banter.
READ | Gauteng pothole app makes a dent in problem but the faults are still deep in the road ahead
In 2021, Zimbabwe’s president Emmerson Mnangagwa, addressing
his Cabinet, said he was “pained” by potholes and declared war on it.
He also posted on X: “Zimbabweans, our roads are in a state of emergency. It pains me to see so many potholes on our once-great highways.
We must act urgently. Today, my government committed ZW$33.6
billion to rapidly rehabilitate 10 000 kilometres of Zimbabwe’s roads. I will
not let you down.”
One of the hardest-hit roads in the country is the
Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway, which links the country to its prime tourist
destination, Victoria Falls.
The road arguably has the most depressing potholes.
During the run-up to the presidential election, Mnangagwa
directed resources towards patching the almost 400km road.
For years, potholes have been a menace on the country’s
roads and played a significant part in some of the most tragic accidents in the
last decade.
In 2018, a youth organisation, Vision Africa, got into
trouble with the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation after they planted banana
trees in the middle of the road, highlighting to the government the
deteriorating state of the country’s roads inside towns.
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