Devolution funds breathe new life into Cowdray Park’s education system

DEVOLUTION funds introduced by the Second Republic have significantly impacted communities across Zimbabwe by addressing critical social amenities challenges. Since President Mnangagwa assumed office, the funds have been used to construct schools, clinics, and roads, with local communities deciding on the projects. Bulawayo has notably benefited, with the construction of Vulindlela Primary School in Cowdray Park, which opened in 2021, easing the shortage of educational facilities in the city.

During a tour of Vulindlela Primary School last Friday, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Lovemore Matuke, praised the high impact of devolution projects on communities.

“This is a great and impactful programme, and we want to thank His Excellency, the President, for availing the devolution funds to the communities. This is a demonstration of the proper use of taxpayers’ money.

We have seen here that this school was built 100 percent through devolution funds. This area used to have children travelling up to eight kilometres to reach the nearest school.

This school is only three years old but now has an enrolment of more than 1 200 learners. In the next three to five years, we could be talking about more than 2 000 learners,” said Minister Matuke.

He commended the President for initiating a programme that touches the lives of ordinary people.

“We want to thank the President for allocating the funds and the authorities entrusted with the funds for deploying the resources towards this important project. It is going to serve our kids; it is going to serve the nation,” he said.

Minister Matuke highlighted that the Government has been able to finance devolution funds through its purse, a significant development given the many competing projects. He stressed the need for the Treasury to release funds promptly to support devolution programmes.

“It is good to release the devolution funds on time, but we should also know that we have too many competing events. Recently, we held a very successful SADC summit, and we had to shift some resources towards that project. The President has declared this drought a state of disaster to enable the mobilisation of funds towards feeding the people and buying inputs to support the agricultural sector,” said Minister Matuke.

“But we also implore the Ministry of Finance to prioritise the devolution funds. They are assisting our communities. These are grassroots projects, coming from the top to bottom and from the bottom to top.”
Bulawayo City Council (BCC) Housing and Community Services Deputy Director, Mrs Linda Siziba, said the school is addressing the shortage of schools in Cowdray Park, an area with more than 15 000 housing units.

According to council standards, a school should be built within 500 housing units, but resource constraints have prevented the local authority from meeting these targets.

Mrs Siziba noted that financial challenges have delayed the project’s completion, which was supposed to be finished within three years. The school has four classroom blocks with three classes each, and plans are in place to build high-rise buildings.

“We are at 30 percent of its requirement in terms of setting up, and some of the challenges are financial.

There are delays in disbursement of funds, and a few weeks ago, we received an equivalent of US$15 000, which is about 466 000 ZWG,” Mrs Siziba said.

She added that the first group of Grade Seven learners enrolled at the school wrote their public examination this week, marking a significant milestone for the school. — @nqotshili