Chivi takes lead in implementing Zim-Asset

From George Maponga in Masvingo—

Over a decade ago, Chivi was arguably one of the least developed and poorest districts in Masvingo Province, a situation that was blamed on the area’s extreme aridity because of perennial droughts.The poor rainfall in the district condemned Chivi to the periphery of socio-economic development.

Chivi earned notoriety for being a perennial basket case that survived at the mercy of non-governmental organisations and other donors.

Several NGOs moved to set base in Chivi, which headlined the effects of a precarious food situation in Masvingo, itself a province synonymous with droughts and food shortages because of poor rains.

Fast forward to 2016, Chivi is totally different from a hopeless district, whose people survived at the benevolence of donors.

Chivi is slowly gravitating towards becoming the future of Masvingo especially in the field of food self-sufficiency thanks to the Government blueprint Zim-Asset.

When the Zanu-PF Government introduced the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation after the 2013 harmonised elections, sceptics were quick to dismiss the blueprint.

However, Chivi saw Zim-Asset as a window through which the district could jettison the shackles of underdevelopment and perennial hunger and set on a journey that would forever change the course of the lives of its more than 150 000 inhabitants.

Led by the charismatic Chivi Rural District Council chairman Dr Killer Zivhu, a renowned philanthropist, the district has set on a growth trajectory that would make it the economic fulcrum of Masvingo Province.

Dr Zivhu quickly swung into action after Government enunciated Zim-Asset and introduced what he called “Village Zim-Asset”.

The launch of Village Zim-Asset in Chivi by Dr Zivhu, who is also the Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial secretary for finance, has precipitated runaway socio-economic transformation in Chivi.

Chivi is slowly moving towards attaining food self-sufficiency through a deliberate programme being spearheaded by Dr Zivhu in the district, to rehabilitate small irrigation schemes, building new dams and repairing old ones.

In the sphere of infrastructure, roads, bridges, schools, dip tanks and clinics have either been rehabilitated or built anew through the Village Zim-Asset drive led by Dr Zivhu.

Chivi RDC chief executive Mr Tariro Matavire said his district had accrued immense benefits in the wake of the introduction of Village Zim-Asset in the last two years.

He said the district had made significant strides in infrastructure development, especially roads, schools, bridges, boreholes and irrigation schemes. Several schools were rehabilitated while new ones were built across the populous district under Village Zim-Asset.

“We also have irrigation schemes such a Makonese and Musvuugwa that were rehabilitated under Village Zim-Asset and they are operational today, boosting food security in the local communities. Some of the schemes were fenced while others that had dilapidated canals were repaired.”

Mr Matavire reckoned that the story of Chivi should inspire other districts to also embrace Zim-Asset to bring about socio-economic transformation in their localities in line with targets set out by Government under the blueprint.

Mr Matavire paid tribute to Dr Zivhu for promoting Village Zim-Asset, which he said has cured Chivi of all its ills, especially food insecurity.

Village Zim-Asset has also seen several schools across Chivi being rehabilitated with the help of Dr Zivhu.

Village Zim-Asset has also restored hope to thousands of vulnerable children and orphaned school children.

Among the schools that benefited under the Village Zim-Asset programme are Maringire, Zunga and Dzingirai primary schools, where new classroom blocks were built with Dr Zivhu providing all the building materials, while villagers chipped in with free labour.

However, it is at Dzingirai Primary School where the fruits of Village Zim-Asset are clear for everyone to see as Dr Zivhu, together with villagers, teamed up to build three classroom blocks at the school in Mukosi resettlement area in Chivi South.

School children were learning in ramshackle, grass-thatched structures. The school will soon have modern classroom blocks courtesy of Dr Zivhu.

Dr Zivhu is also spearheading construction of Chebvumbi Secondary School that will benefit hundreds of school children near Ngundu Growth Point, who were walking for over 20km to and from school daily, to the nearest secondary school.

Besides building and rehabilitating schools, Dr Zivhu also pays schools fees for thousands of school children both at primary and secondary school level in Chivi, while also providing the vulnerable ones with school uniforms and shoes to make sure that every child has access to education.

Chivi-Mwenezi Senator, who is also former Masvingo Governor and Resident Minister Cde Josaya Hungwe says Dr Zivhu was a gift to the people of Chivi.

“The difference between (Dr) Zivhu and others is that he is a doer, a practical man who is results-oriented. Chivi is a changed place in terms of infrastructure such as roads, bridges, schools and clinics because of him. Chivi is on the road to achieve food self-sufficiency because of Village Zim-Asset, which is rebuilding dams, drilling boreholes courtesy of Dr Zivhu,” said Cde Hungwe during the official opening of a classroom block at Maringire Prmary School.

Dr Zivhu also says attaining food security at household level in Chivi remained his top priority, adding that he was keen to boost incomes of villagers through water melon production and fish breeding.

Towards the end of this year, he launched a water melon project that benefited over 500 rural women from Gomana Village.

Under the project, Dr Zivhu supported the villagers with hybrid water melon seed and irrigation equipment for them to produce water melons for resale to support their families.

“In five years’ time, Chivi will be the breadbasket of Masvingo Province courtesy of Village Zim-Asset being spearheaded by Dr Zivhu.

“The future looks even more brighter considering that the Tokwe-Mukosi Dam will soon come on board to further enhance the district’s position as the doyen of irrigation in the province,” said Chivi RDC councillor Mr Sanders Magwizi.

Dr Zivhu recently introduced Zim-Asset in Chivi to household levels under which every homestead in the district would be compelled to adopt water harvesting as part of efforts to preserve water and give a further boost to food security.

“We have decided to take Zim-Asset to the next level in Chivi by launching what we are calling ‘Household Zim-Asset’, whereby at every homestead in this district, there will be some developmental projects that will take place in line with Zim-Asset goals. The question that we will be asking under Household Zim-Asset is: what is it that every person is doing at his or her home to sustain themselves?” he said during the launch of Household Zim-Asset recently.

“We have moved from Village Zim-Asset to Household Zim-Asset and under the latter, our major goal is to make sure that every household starts water harvesting as it is the only way we can preserve the little rain that falls in Chivi every year,” added Dr Zivhu.

Chivi District today stands on the threshold of history, poised for a major socio-economic take-off propelled by embracing Zim-Asset changing livelihoods of tens of thousands of rural villagers.