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Mthabisi Tshuma in Filabusi
PANGANI Vocational Training Centre in Insiza district, Matabeleland South, has championed a goat keeping project with the youth being most active beneficiaries.
The student goat incubation hub project started in 2018 and now has a herd of 206 goats. The project hit a brick wall last year after over 100 goats died due to drought. The project has also been crippled by financial constraints.
Speaking during a tour of the project by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Youth, Sport, Art and Recreation and the Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment in Filabusi Wednesday, Pangani Acting Principal, Mr Stanford Ngwenya, said 32 students were being equipped with skills to facilitate home goat incubation hubs.
“As a vocational training centre we have 32 students enrolled. They are in the process of getting more knowledge on setting up incubation hubs.
“The incubation hubs will be set up in the communities where they stay as we want the project not only to benefit the student but the community as well,” he said.
“The incubation hub will serve as a business incubator where we are going to help our students by providing necessary services for the goat project,” said Mr Ngwenya.
The delegation observed that the goats were being kept in a fenced area where they are being pen-fed with water supply coming from a solar powered borehole.
Mr Ngwenya said they were targeting the international market for exports.
“Our main target for the output of the is to sell the meat abroad with Asia being our desired target.
“The project stalled last year after a lot of the goats died due to drought and as an institution we were not able to fund the feeding,” he said.
Mr Ngwenya said they were faced with a security challenge and alleged that illegal miners were stealing the goats.
“We are bordered by illegal miners who have stolen our goats and continue to do so.
“Another challenge we have is that we don’t have enough space to accommodate the goats but we are working on setting up a paddock, which also needs financing to be set up. We are calling on stakeholders to assist us,” he added.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Youth, Sport, Art and Recreation and Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment, Retired Major Mathias Tongofa (MP) urged the vocational training centre to adopt a pass on model for the project to successfully bloom.
“As an institution you can adopt a pass on model for the students who are in the goat project.
“This can be done by giving out mixed genders of five goats to the graduates who will then run the programme and go on to pass the project to other graduates,” he said.
Insiza North MP Farai Taruvinga called on the community and various stakeholders to unite and assist the institution in whatever way necessary so that their livestock production excels.
Also present at the tour were MPs Lisa Singo, Edmore Samambwa, Memory Mbondiah, Elizabeth Masuku and Senators Sikhanyisiwe Mpofu, Alice Dube, Chief Nembire, Chief Chikwaka and Chief Nhema among other senior Government officials.
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