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Precious Manomano Herald Reporter
The continuous borehole drilling programme by the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) this week reached the 1 000 mark with 1 020 drilled by May 30, under the Presidential Rural Development Programme.
The Presidential Rural Development Programme was launched in 2021 and is aimed at uplifting the living standards for rural communities.
Under the programme, ZINWA is set to drill and equip 35 000 boreholes across the country’s eight rural provinces in a development that will see each of the country’s 35 000 villages getting a borehole.
The boreholes will provide water for the establishment of horticulture gardens, water for the villages’ domestic needs, fisheries, orchards and dip-tanks.
In a statement, Zinwa corporate communications and marketing manager Mrs Marjorie Munyonga said a total of 15 solar powered horticulture gardens had been established, while 112 boreholes had been equipped with bush pumps.
“Communities in Mangwe (Matabeleland South) and Mt Darwin (Mashonaland Central) have already started benefiting from the gardens; harvesting and selling their produce,” she said. “Out of the 1 020 boreholes, 114 were drilled in Manicaland, 169 in Mashonaland Central, 101 in Mashonaland East, 119 in Mashonaland West, 105 in Midlands, 74 in Matabeleland South, 117 in Matabeleland North and 221 in Masvingo Province.”
In executing the Presidential Rural Development Programme, ZINWA is working together with the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA), who are responsible for the management of the gardens and the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) who are responsible for sourcing and establishing markets for the produce from the villages.
Other implementing agencies are ZimTrade, the Tobacco Research Board and the Department of Irrigation.
The development also comes after President Mnangagwa last year embarked the Presidential Borehole drilling schemes to provide clean water to urban areas after councils have failed to provide potable water for residents.
The programme also dovetails with President Mnangagwa’s vision as stated in the ruling party’s 2018 election manifesto on water and sanitation that said the Second Republic will, inter alia carry out a national rehabilitation programme of all water purification plants.
The provision of water remains a cornerstone in the attainment of an upper middle income economy by year 2030
Zimbabwe Indigenous Women Farmers Trust Mrs Depinah Nkomo said water is the critical component which needs to be protected by farmers.
“Water is important because we can boost agricultural production. With water we can grow different types of crops throughout the year and increase our profits. Majority are doing horticultural productions from these boreholes. We are grateful to the Government for these useful initiatives which uplift the lives of the majority of people across the country,” she said.
Epworth residents have applauded President Mnangagwa for tackling water challenges after the CCC-led council failed to provide potable water to residents.
“We would like to thank President Mnangagwa for this initiative. We have been facing water challenges for a long time. We used to fetch water from unprotected wells but now we are getting fresh clean water from the tap. Everyone now has access to clean water at any time,” said Mr Talent Mupfururi of Epworth.
Another resident, Mrs Memory Mugoni, said the boreholes had brought relief to Epworth.
“We would like to thank our benevolent President for drilling boreholes in this area. We are very happy because when we used to visit wells to fetch water we would spend the whole day queuing to fill up a 20-litre bucket. President Mnangagwa has the concerns of the people at heart and we are grateful for his visionary leadership,” she said.
Mrs Barbra Machingauta said the boreholes have brought convenience in Epworth as they have not been receiving water for a long period.
“The burden of carrying buckets on our heads, wheelbarrows and pushcarts are over. We had been consuming dirty water fetched from unprotected sources for a long time, but now we have boreholes which provide clean and safe water,” she said.
Online Reporter