daniel chigunwe
Luthando Mapepa
Chipinge Bureau
A group of 25 Mutare Polytechnic students from Chimanimani are now producing quality furniture at their workshop, thanks to the machinery donated by the government of India through the Indo-Zim projects.
The donation is part of the 17 modern carpentry machines delivered across the country.
Beneficiaries of the programme are short course graduates from Mutare Polytechnic.
The college has enrolled close to 500 people in Chimanimani in various disciplines that include carpentry, welding and brick laying.
In an interview, some of the beneficiaries said the machinery has improved their lives, while locals are benefiting from their quality products.
“We used to work manually, but this is now a thing of the past, thanks to this advanced technology.
“We are now producing quality furniture, thereby increasing our revenue.
“This development has expanded our customer base in Chimanimani and beyond.
“Some of the students are being enrolled by the college without having to worry about academic qualifications and this benefits disadvantaged youths.
“These youths now have a chance to obtain a professional qualification,” said Mr Tulani Sithole, a Mutare Polytechnic graduate.
Indian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Vijay Khanduja who visited Chimanimani on Tuesday, implored the community to maximise on the opportunity to enhance their livelihoods.
“The government of India has distributed similar machinery to 17 centres across the country.
“This is one such centre where I have witnessed first-hand the full utilisation of the machines towards promoting small and medium enterprises for the local community.
“These developments show the positive relations between our two governments as we join hands to improve the livelihoods of our people,” said Ambassador Khanduja.
Mutare Polytechnic principal, Mrs Poniso Watema, revealed plans to decentralise its services to ensure promotion of heritage-based learning across the country.
“As an institution, we are pushing towards the promotion of the Education 5.0 policy, anchored on heritage-based learning so that we unlock all talent regardless of education qualifications.
“So far, we have set up technical colleges in Chipinge and Chimanimani, but our broad plans are to decentralise our services across Manicaland so that every community member is given a chance to develop a life skill,” said Mrs Watema.
Chimanimani East legislator, who is also Transport and Infrastructural Development Deputy Minister, Joshua Sacco, said the intervention speaks to the positive relations between India and Zimbabwe.
“As Chimanimani District, we are delighted by the Indian government’s intervention as this development speaks highly of the positive relationship we share.
“Our community has been empowered to produce quality furniture and this is highly commendable, especially given that we are a timber producing district,” said Deputy Minister Sacco.
Online Reporter