Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
GOVERNMENT has started a campaign to drill a borehole at each of the nearly 10 000 schools in the country as the Second Republic forges ahead with its vision to improve livelihoods and develop the economy.
Clean water provision is one of the goals under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka, said this while officially opening the 22nd WaterNet Symposium which is being hosted by the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) through its department of Civil and Water Engineering here yesterday
The theme of the conference is “Integrated Water Resources Management for Sustainable Development in Eastern and Southern Africa.”
Dr Masuka said his ministry is seized with harnessing water resources for social and economic development.
He said his ministry also superintends over 530 water points through the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa), supplying 33 million cubic metres of treated water and 1,3 billion cubic metres raw bulk water annually.
“Zimbabwe is endowed with some 10 700 dams having been built, but only a handful are being fully utilised. This presents an opportunity to deploy new technologies and Government has now adopted a new philosophy for these projects as it seeks to accelerate irrigation development from the current 216 000 ha to over 420 000ha by 2024,” said the minister.
“Government envisages drilling about 35 000 boreholes in each of the country’s 35 000 villages and 9 600 boreholes at each of the country’s 9 600 schools by 2024. A further 3 600 boreholes, two each in each of our 18 000 wards for youth horticulture projects will be drilled.”
The minister said of the 44 950 boreholes in the country, only 25 000 are fully functional. So, maintenance must be a key community involvement issue, said Dr Masuka. He said Government will continue to develop and deploy technologies that improve water use efficiency especially through scientific research to enhance productivity in agricultural production.
Dr Masuka said the hybrid symposium came at an opportune time when Government envisages to increase land under irrigation in the country from the current 216 000ha to over 420 000ha by 2024.
He said it creates a platform for networking and sharing ideas and experiences for improving cooperation in line with Government’s thrust of championing public-private partnerships in its approach to development.
He said enhancing access to safe water supply and sanitation services, as well as basic hygienic practices are key foundational issues for achieving the country’s vision and critical for attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular, SDG 6 which calls for clean water and sanitation for all, as well as including good health and gender equality.
He said by managing water sustainably, the country is able to better manage production of food and energy and contribute to decent work and economic growth.
The Minister said urgent additional resources and assistance are required especially to improve water supply and sanitation coverage which is still lagging in many developing countries’ rural areas.
The Minister commended Nust for organising the international symposium.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister, Professor Amon Murwira challenged institutions of higher education to explore innovative ways of improving access to clean safe water and mitigate effects of climate change.
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