Online Reporter
Getrude Manyande, Sunday News Reporter
THE Government has intensified direct engagement with rural communities to ensure development programmes address challenges identified by the people, with Kezi in Matobo District set to receive increased attention under the Second Republic.
The Ministry of Lands and Rural Development said it will make regular visits to the area and work with the local authority, communities and other Government departments to tackle infrastructure and service delivery challenges in the district.
Speaking during the National Clean-Up Campaign in Kezi recently, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Professor Bvumiranayi Matondi, said Government wanted rural communities to play a central role in identifying their development priorities.
Prof Matondi said Kezi remained an important part of the country’s development agenda and dismissed concerns that rural communities were being left behind.
“The Ministry of Lands and Rural Development would return to Kezi as often as possible to work with residents on issues affecting rural development. We will be coming here more often to work with you on anything related to rural development,” he said.
He said the Government’s approach was to strengthen cooperation between ministries, local authorities and communities so that development interventions were based on challenges experienced by people on the ground.
Among the priorities is improving rural infrastructure and markets, which Prof Matondi said should provide communities with better spaces to conduct business.
“The Government will also work with the Ministry of Health and Child Care to improve the health and well-being of communities,” he said.
Prof Matondi said improving rural development required more than isolated interventions, with different Government departments expected to work together to address interconnected challenges facing communities.
He said the clean-up campaign could serve as a springboard for broader community development initiatives, bringing Government and residents together to identify and address challenges affecting their areas.
The National Clean-Up Campaign, launched by President Mnangagwa in December 2018, is held on the first Friday of every month across the country.
It seeks to promote environmental cleanliness, improve public health and encourage communities, businesses, local authorities and Government institutions to take collective responsibility for maintaining clean and safe surroundings.
The campaign has since evolved beyond routine litter collection, with Government encouraging communities to use clean-up activities as platforms for addressing wider environmental and service-delivery challenges.
Prof Matondi said the Kezi clean-up should therefore mark the beginning of stronger cooperation between Government and the community.
“The Government would therefore continue engaging communities and ensuring that rural development remained a priority. The national clean-up campaign should also serve as a starting point for stronger collaboration between Government and communities in improving their surroundings and supporting development initiatives,” he said.
The renewed engagement comes as Government continues to promote development in rural areas under its broader agenda of improving access to infrastructure, markets and social services while ensuring communities participate in shaping projects that affect them.
