Gokwe South Rural District Council acquires drilling rig

GOKWE South Rural District Council has acquired a drilling rig as the local authority steps up efforts to address the prevailing water challenges in the district.

Gokwe is facing a serious water problem and some boreholes are failing to reach the water table because of the rugged terrain.

The rig, which was bought using devolution funds, is expected to drill boreholes in schools, churches and chiefs’ homesteads, and the community is also set to benefit.

Speaking during the commissioning of the rig on Tuesday, Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Owen Ncube said the development is a major milestone and commended the local authority for the effective utilisation of devolution funds.

“This event, not only represents a remarkable achievement but also exemplifies the transformative work being carried out by the Second Republic under the unparalleled leadership of His Excellency President Mnangagwa,” he said.

“We express our sincere gratitude to his administration for his unwavering commitment towards the implementation of devolution and decentralisation which has allowed local authorities to address their challenges and implement developmental projects in their communities.”

Minister Ncube urged other local authorities in the province to utilise devolution funds in a productive manner that benefits communities.

“I urge other local authorities to emulate and utilise devolution funds efficiently for the betterment of our communities by implementing projects that have a positive impact. Now that Gokwe RDC has a drilling rig, we expect to see water and sanitation coverage improving from 40,6 percent and 38 percent respectively,” he said.

Mberengwa and Chirumhanzu RDCs are some of the local authorities in the Midlands province which also acquired borehole drilling rigs.

“These machines should support the Agriculture 8.0 model that targets 35 000 boreholes. Local authorities are therefore, urged to ensure efficient and effective use of the devolution funds in line with the provisions of Section 301 of the Constitutions of Zimbabwe,” said Minister Ncube.

Under the Presidential Borehole Scheme, Government is drilling 35 000 solarised boreholes across all the villages countrywide. Each village is also being empowered with a nutritional garden with proceeds benefiting locals.

The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) has drilled almost 300 boreholes already this year to improve rural communities’ access to water and help transform livelihoods through horticulture.

The development dovetails with Government’s policy of devolution and decentralisation of services to communities for improved service delivery and economic development, anchored on the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) in the push to make Zimbabwe an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

Minister Ncube said Government has increased devolution funds threefold to local authorities in the 2024 budget.

“We therefore expect more projects to be initiated and completed,” he said.