Businessman buys drilling rig machine to assist community

Flora Fadzai Sibanda
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MR Mkhulunyelwa Nkomo, a businessman from Bulilima District in Matabeleland South Province has taken it upon himself to complement Government efforts in the provision of potable water by acquiring his own drilling rig machine to assist his community.

The development also comes after President Mnangagwa last year launched the Presidential Borehole drilling schemes to provide clean water to urban and rural areas.

The provision of water remains a cornerstone in the attainment of an upper-middle-income economy by year 2030.
The Government, through the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement embarked on the drilling of 35 000 boreholes in each of the 35 000 villages in the country under the Presidential Rural Development Programme.

Through his initiative, Mr Nkomo intends to complement Government efforts in the provision of potable clean water to people in the area. Most people in the area walk long distances to fetch water. Others resort to unhygienic and unsafe water sources oblivious of the dangers of contracting diseases. Recently, Mr Nkomo organised a meeting, which was attended by hundreds of villagers who gathered at his home to witness the unveiling of the rig, which arrived in the country from China about two weeks ago.

“After realising how bad the water situation is in our district, I decided to buy a borehole rig so that the entire family benefits in terms of access to clean water. I used part of my savings and sold livestock to buy the machine,” he said.

“Most people who are contracted to drill boreholes for people in Mangwe District are from other provinces and sometimes they take time to do the job as they would have been contracted in other areas.”

Mr Nkomo said his ultimate goal is to make sure that by next year most households in the district have access to clean water.
Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technologies, Postal and Courier Services Dingumuzi Phuti applauded Mr Nkomo for complementing Government efforts in addressing the plight of the affected community in line with the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).

“It is worth noting that Mr Nkomo worked hard in supporting the Government because we recently commissioned a rig in Tshintshila in Mangwe District. When he saw that Government had bought a rig that was supposed to service the whole of Matabeleland, he decided to get another one which will lessen the burden on Government,” he said. — @flora_sibanda