Harare — "IT is either the Harare City councillors have a strong case or are simply acting on emotion as they did on the case of the missing cattle," said Mr Adrian Takundwa, an avid follower of developments at Town House.

After a lot of hype about the missing cattle the city lost the case and to this day city fathers have egg on their faces -- they pointed fingers left, right and centre.

Lack of information is dangerous. Denying policymakers information is even more dangerous because it leads to speculation and formulation of resolutions and policy matters premised on vindictiveness and half-truths.

More often than not it leads to embarrassment on the part of policymakers.

One wonders, why councillors would vociferously contest the construction of a major road regarded as a major entry into Harare and Zimbabwe.

A road that adds to the aesthetic beauty of Harare, a road that adds to the sunshine status of the capital if they are well informed about the road.

Council officials have been found wanting on the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Express (Airport Road).

Honestly, there is nothing to hide from the councillors. The information just has to be fully tabled and all the details made known.

Believe you me, the councillors should be the best public relations officers for the road. They will justify it to the people in their wards.

Who were the city authorities trying to protect, one wonders.

No councillor in his right mind would have raised a finger if all the information on the road had been supplied at the time it was requested. Correct information -- with emphasis.

Councillors wanted to know the quantum of land involved in the deal and its location. They wanted to know how the US$80 million cost was arrived at, understand the involvement of Mr Michael Mahachi, who was the chairperson of the caretaker commission that structured the land for the road construction deal.

All they wanted to know was whether Mr Mahachi got involved with Augur Investments after he had left council or during his tenure.

However, as it turned out, information was restricted to the officials leading to massive speculation dragging names into what might have or not have happened.

It is uncontested that the Airport Road project was long overdue. History shows that the then Salisbury full council approved the project in 1976, having been on the drawing board since the 1960s.

City officials should just avail all the relevant information to avoid embarrassing the councillors.

Comparing the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Road and the Mhondoro-Ngezi Road does not hold water. The Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Express is an urban road that adds to the ambience of the capital.

Talk of the duplication of the Independence Arch, the several flyovers, slip roads, compensation of the affected homeowners, movement of water, sewer, telephone and electricity reticulation infrastructure and the hire of the state-of-the-art equipment.

This is the information that city officials were supposed to impress the councillors with. The officials should learn that they hold offices on behalf of the people. They administer the city for the people and when the people ask for accountability they should simply do so.

Hiding information from the people raises eyebrows and in the process names are tarnished and sometimes very noble projects are tarnished as well, sometimes at the expense of development.

Just imagine the value addition that is going to be attached to properties on the highway and the attendant developments that will take place alongside the road. In essence, the road should drive corridor developments.

There have been spirited debates on the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Express and the debates are sure to take new angles for as long as information about the construction of the road remains murky.

While the councillors have every right to know what happened before the awarding of the tender to construct the road to Augur Investments of Ukraine, they should not use that privilege to try and stop a noble project.

The Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Express is a very important gateway into the country that should not be stopped by politics.

At its peak Harare International Airport used to be home to 14 airlines. With current political developments one can only anticipate the return of all those airlines and with that return should be a world-class road to welcome important dignitaries to Zimbabwe -- heads of state, ministers, diplomats, tourists and our own people.

Councillors should allow construction of the road to go ahead while their investigations into actions of impropriety go on. The project is too important to be stopped by a probe into an individual.

In other words, the road is more important than any individual living or dead.

At present the road is already congested especially during the morning, afternoon and evening peak hours.

In fact, as things stand there is no dedicated road to the airport. The majority of motorists have to drive through the congested Julius Nyerere Way in city centre to connect into Seke Road then into Dieppe Road and finally turn into Joshua Mqabuko Express at the sorting office.

The new road should lead directly to the airport with motorists from the northern suburbs driving straight to the airport without the hassles of getting into central Harare.

So much for denying policymakers information.

The Government has announced a tourism master plan for the country and, therefore, the project is a vital cog in the development of tourism. What with the 2010 World Cup coming to the region next year, time is not on our side if we are not going to be found wanting.

The time for bickering is not now. This is the time for multiplication and development. Zimbabwe needs to take its proper place on the world map and that can only be achieved with the right infrastructure in place that meets world standards.

A number of major developmental projects have been on the drawing boards for too long to the detriment of the development of the capital city.

Kunzwi Dam and the proposed Harare-Chitungwiza railway line are two cases in point. A city as huge as Harare needs adequate water supplies and a reliable and efficient transport system.

Now is the time for the city fathers and officials to wake up and smell the coffee.

Had Kunzwi Dam been constructed 15 years ago, Harare would not be facing the water shortages currently dogging the northern suburbs and all the new housing projects already approved and yet to be approved for the Greater Harare Master Plan.