dyton mupawaenda
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu,
THE Gwanda Community Share Ownership Trust (GCSOT) has helped in the implementation of milestone developmental projects in the mining town which include the construction of schools and clinics and drilling of boreholes among other social services.
In an interview, Gwanda Community Share Ownership Trust chairperson, Mr Coster Nkala said next year, each of the 24 wards in the district will receive US$4 500 monthly which will go towards ward development initiatives.
He said the trust will also rehabilitate roads and Gungwe Dam.
The trust is a Government-initiated structure that acts as a link between the mining companies and communities at the district level. It is mandated to drive the socio-economic development of communities around mining areas.
“The trust was established in 2012 and since then we have managed to initiate a number of developmental initiatives using proceeds that we get from mining companies. Under the education sector, we constructed and equipped A-level laboratories in five schools namely Ntepe High, Sibona High, Mzimuni High, Selonga High and Gungwe High,” said Mr Nkala.
“We also built classroom blocks in five schools and furnished them. The schools include Maphane Secondary, Mabheka High, Bhalula Primary, Betsa Primary and Chongwe Primary. We built a teacher’s house at Simbumbumbu Primary and a computer laboratory at Mzimuni Primary School and also installed a solar system.”
Mr Nkala said they have sponsored four university students and two students for teacher training.
Under health, the trust constructed Silikwe Clinic and renovated Mapate and Sitezi clinics, and electrified three clinics.
Mr Nkala said the trust has a borehole drilling rig that is used for commercial purposes, including drilling boreholes for the community for free. He said they have rehabilitated water systems in two clinics.
Mr Nkala said as part of its new thrust, the trust is pursuing a business approach in most of its projects. He said they have been working on investing and growing their seed capital funds by pursuing enterprise development projects that generate income for both the trust and the community.
Projects that were funded by the Gwanda Community Share Ownership Trust.
“In the process, the trust has been creating employment and improving livelihoods. GCSOT resolved to scale down on social projects and direct its effort in searching for enterprise development projects that will generate income for the trust and generate income for community members at household level,” he said.
Mr Nkala said the trust has embarked several on income-generating projects to supplement revenue from mines.
“The projects are pen fattening, micro-finance, property investment and borehole drilling. The trust also recognises the need to contribute to the national economic growth,” he said.
Mr Nkala said in line with National Development Strategy 1, their programming is now underpinned by two core thematic areas, which are policy and administration and socio-economic empowerment and investment.
The trust has four programme outcomes which are improved governance and administration; improved community empowerment and development; improved access to funding by communities; and improved revenue generation.
Mr Nkala said fulfilling these outcomes will help the trust to achieve its mandate.
He said the trust has adopted a new socio-economic development model that combines business sustainability and social entrepreneurship with the ultimate goal of developing a socially and economically empowered community in Gwanda.
“Our social entrepreneurship aspect combines commercial activities with social objectives. We aspire to be an organisation that exists for a social purpose but engages in enterprise development to fulfil its mission, using market-based techniques to achieve social ends,” said Mr Nkala.
“We aim to transform the trust to become a community organisation that uses business as an instrument for socio-economic development, which reflects the balance between financial and social objectives.”
A borehole drilling rig that was bought using funds from the Gwanda Community Share Ownership Trust.
Government, in its effort to economically empower the previously disadvantaged and economically deprived communities of Gwanda, set up the Community Share Ownership Trust.
The trust was launched on May 18, 2012 at Colleen Bawn.
It was established under Section 14(b) of Statutory Instrument 21 of 2010 of the Indigenisation and Empowerment Act [Chapter 14:33] which provided for the establishment of Community Share Ownership Trusts that shall hold shares in qualifying businesses on behalf of their respective communities.
The regulation under which the trust was established provides that the communities whose natural resources are being exploited by qualifying businesses must be guaranteed shareholding in such businesses.
The thrust of the GCSOT is to ensure that communities benefit from the exploitation of natural resources within their area.
Online Reporter