Lupane gets fire tender

LUPANE Local Board got a major boost from Government when it took delivery of a tractor loader backhoe (TLB) truck, a roller and a fire tender procured by the Second Republic on behalf of the country’s 92 local authorities using part of their 2021 devolution funds.

The fire tender is part of a larger acquisition of 133 vehicles by the central Government, intended to enhance public and property safety measures implemented by local authorities.

In an interview, Lupane Local Board town secretary Mr Chalton Moyo said the arrival of the fire tender comes as a relief to the town and its residents, who have experienced a loss of life and property due to the lack of fire-fighting equipment.

“We received a TLB truck, a roller and a fire tender from the Government. Most of our roads are in a bad state and therefore the equipment will help us address those challenges.

“We will also be able to service residential stands. The road works equipment also comes in handy as it helps us cut the costs of hiring from contractors,” he said.

“Whenever we have fire incidents at the centre and along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls we would wait for fire tenders from Bulawayo, which is now a thing of the past.”

Matabeleland North province had the second-highest hectarage burnt by veld fires and the worst-hit district in the province was Lupane.

The district has been struggling to attend to fire outbreaks. In the past year alone, Matabeleland North accounted for over 25 percent of all veld fires reported nationwide, with the district of Lupane suffering the greatest losses.

Mr Moyo said a local contractor who was engaged to provide water, sewer, and road network to ensure that the Lupane Hlalani Kuhle housing project is fully functional, has finished the bulk of the work.

A Bulawayo company, Saltaway Enterprises, was contracted by the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities to do the civil works, including 19 housing units earmarked for civil servants at Hlalani Kuhle, as the Second Republic works towards improving the welfare of its workers.

The civil works include connecting water and sewer pipes and constructing access roads.

Lupane Local Board manages Lupane, which was given town status in 1999, marking the start of a long process of relocation of various provincial services and offices from Bulawayo to Lupane Centre.

Various projects being spearheaded by the Second Republic under President Mnangagwa’s administration are expected to speed up the growth of Lupane Town, which is the Matabeleland North provincial capital.

The province is growing in leaps and bounds as the Second Republic continues to accelerate the implementation of transformative infrastructural development projects in the largely rural province, which lagged behind in terms of development.

Lupane is a rural semi-arid area with a growing population and some infrastructural expansion, but development has been slow largely due to inadequate funding for infrastructural development.

However, under the Second Republic, Lupane has recorded transformative growth as evidenced by the implementation of new infrastructural projects in addition to existing ones, which had stalled for years due to a lack of funding.