DDF to acquire advanced drilling equipment

Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
Government has allocated $2,8 million to the District Development Fund (DDF) for the purchase of state-of-the-art drilling rigs to improve sanitation and access to clean water, especially for disadvantaged communities.

The rigs are expected to complement efforts by the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa), which has since received $4,8 million from Government, to drill more than 1 000 boreholes countrywide. In a recent interview, DDF acting permanent secretary Mr Edwin Toriro said Government was supporting the fund to effectively serve rural communities.

“Government efforts in terms of recapitalisation of DDF are quite immense. We have acquired six brand new drilling rigs. We are going to ensure that this will be a game-changer in the borehole-drilling industry in this country. We are making sure that we also attend to the water needs of the disadvantaged,” he said.

The rigs, which are mounted with the mud-pumping drilling technique, are expected to arrive later this month from India. They are able to drill up to 300 metres and have the capacity to drill the hardest surfaces and areas with loose sands. Usually most rigs falter when presented with a hard ground profile, leaving most areas without access to water.

The parallel programme being spearheaded by Zinwa targets at least four boreholes per constituency. Government has also set out to recapitalise the roads engineering division of DDF, with particular emphasis on uplifting the lives of people in rural areas.

The fund maintains and rehabilitates the country’s 32 000-kilometre rural road network, which is critical in making most areas accessible. Mr Toriro said the department was being capacitated to be responsive to issues of infrastructure rehabilitation and development in the country.

“The gesture by Government is indicative of how much value it places on the issue of water and sanitation in the country,” he said.

Government is implementing a robust programme to improve access to water through water harvesting techniques such as construction of weirs and dam de-silting.

Environment, Water and Climate Minister Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri said Government’s effort was aimed at improving general access to water and sanitation in line with World Health Organisation standards. The approach is expected to reduce water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, which affects at least 50 000 people each year.