adminPamela Shumba Senior Reporter
ELEVEN Tsholotsho schools have benefited from a $250,000 fund generated from the district’s Campfire programme in the last 12 months.
This emerged during a tour of the projects at the schools on Tuesday where Matabeleland North Provincial Minister of State Cde Cain Mathema commended the district for exploiting natural resources for the benefit of the community.
The money was raised from tourism, timber logging, sand extraction and fruit sales among other natural resource exploitation activities.
Cde Mathema, who was joined by Matabeleland North Provincial Administrator Latiso Dlamini, Tsholotsho District Administrator Nosizi Dube and Tsholotsho RDC chief executive officer Themba Moyo, said the country’s laws require such funding to be strictly used for community development.
Using the money, the local authority constructed at least a classroom block for each school, provided furniture and built teachers’ cottages in some schools.
Dibutibu Secondary received 10 sewing machines to be used by the Fashion and Fabrics department while Kapani Secondary received 75 three-seater combined desks.
Gombalume Primary got a solar water pumping system installed courtesy of the programme.
Other schools include Mkwizhu, Mahlaba, Gwayi, Mcetshwa, Dibutibu, Gombalume, Malindi and Sihazela.
After the tour, Cde Mathema said he was impressed by the work being done by the RDC through the Campfire programme.
He urged the council to continue with its developmental thrust towards improving education standards and community livelihoods.
“This is unbelievable. The Campfire programme is doing a great job and this shows that the RDC is concerned about the lives of the people in communities they operate in,” said Cde Mathema.
“Most schools in the area have inadequate infrastucture, furniture and learning material and I’m happy that the local authority has taken the initiative to cover the gap and create a conducive learning environment for the school children and teachers.”
Cde Mathema also said the funding should be channelled towards rehabilitating roads some of which are in a bad state and are shunned by transport operators.
He said Tsholotsho had plenty of underground water and emphasised the need to provide piped water in all schools and villager.
The minister said establishing water sources would assist in agricultural production that would help eradicate poverty in line with the Zim-Asset ideals.
Campfires natural resources executive officer Simelisizwe Sibanda said they had resolved to set aside $250,000 every year for developmental projects in the district.
“The projects we’ve seen today, some of which are still under construction, are for the 2013 to 2014 period. As soon as we complete all of them, we will embark on new projects that are meant to benefit the community,” said Sibanda.
“The money comes from the revenue collected by the council and it benefits communities where resources are being exploited. The communities that have no resources are not being left out because Plan International is assisting with different developmental projects there.”
Sibanda said besides generating funds for the rural communities, the Campfire programme was also advocating for the conservation of natural resources and creating jobs for the local people.
He, however, expressed concern at the increase in the elephant population in the district, which was destroying crops during farming seasons.
Online Reporter