Clean water for 100 000 rural homes

Chronicle Writer

OVER 100 000 rural households across the country now have access to clean and safe water since the launch of the Presidential Rural Development Programme in December 2021. 

The households benefit from communal water points established as part of village business units (VBUs) and water reticulation systems installed by the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) under the programme. Each communal water point or reticulation system serves an average of 60 to 100 households.

The scheme, which was launched by President Mnangagwa at Sekusile-Makorokoro nutrition garden in Jinjika Village, Makorokoro area of Mangwe District, Matabeleland South Province, has helped uplift livelihoods in rural communities through the creation of employment opportunities for women and youths, among other vulnerable members of society. 

Under the Presidential Rural Development Programme, the Government is in the process of drilling and equipping one borehole in each of the country’s 35 000 villages, 9 600 schools, and 4 500 youth centres.

Each village is also being empowered with a nutrition garden with a wide range of fruit trees and sweet potato vines being distributed to households.

In a statement,  Zinwa’s head of corporate communications and marketing, Mrs Marjorie Munyonga said by January 28, a total of 1 846 communal water points had been successfully established, each providing safe potable water to between 60 and 100 households.

“The 1 846 communal water points were established, either as part of village business units (VBUs) or as stand-alone solar powered water points,” she said. 

“The Presidential Rural Development Programme aims to provide rural communities with safe potable water as both a constitutional right and a resilience mechanism against climate change.” 

Communities in Matabeleland South are also accessing safe water from 51 points and a further 30 communal water points forming part of the business units in the province. 

The Midlands Province has 117 solar equipped water access points and a further 45 communal water points established as part of business units while Harare Province has a total of 83 water access points installed under the programme. 

In Mashonaland Central, there are 58 water reticulations and 68 communal water points established as part the VBUs whereas Mashonaland West has 38 water reticulations systems and 39 more communal water points attached to fully set up village and school business units. In Mashonaland East Province 106 community water points are in place in addition to the 60 communal water points which are part of village and school business units.

 “As for Matabeleland North Province 97 standalone communal water points are providing clean water to villages while there are also 38 more communal water points situated at village business units in the province,” said Mrs Munyonga.

Manicaland has 108 communal water points which also add to the other 48 communal water points that are part of the business units in the province while in Masvingo there are 153 water access points and a further 100 which form a component of the established business units.

Mrs Munyonga said Bulawayo Province has 65 solar-powered water access points established under the programme.

“These interventions have ushered in serious relief to the beneficiary rural communities, especially those in the dry provinces where people would travel as long as 15 kilometres in search of water with children sometimes having to miss school to fetch water for family requirements,” she said.

Mrs Munyonga said the Presidential Rural Development programme has also improved the lives of women and girls, who are largely responsible for fetching water in rural communities, exposing them to sexual and gender-based violence.

“Under the programme, Zinwa, which is responsible for infrastructure development, is set to drill and equip a borehole in each of the country’s 35 000 villages and a borehole for each of the 9 600 schools and 4 500 youth centres by the end of the programme,” she said.

“These boreholes form the anchor infrastructure for the establishment of village, school, youth and vocational training centre business units whose components typically include a solar-powered borehole, water storage tanks, a one-hectare drip technology horticulture project, a communal water point and two fishponds.”

The business units are run on sound commercial lines with beneficiaries being both shareholders and employees of the village business units.

The Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) has the responsibility of registering the business units as formal companies, overseeing their day-to-day management and ensuring that they are operated viably.

The Agricultural Marketing Authority develops the business case for the business units and secures ready markets for the produce from the village business units while the Agricultural Finance Corporation provides funding.