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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
A new town is now rising in Beitbridge Rural District Council where 485 residential and 18 light industrial stands have been laid out at Lutumba Growth Point in Ward 5 to promote rural transformation and industrialisation in line with the Government’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
Beitbridge RDC chief executive officer Mr Peter Moyo said the growth point, and so the stands, were along the Beitbridge-Masvingo Highway. The area has already been serviced.
“Currently, we are in the midst of servicing more stands, which will soon be allocated to the beneficiaries,” said Mr Moyo. “These will be allocated to people on our housing waiting list, which stands at over 4 000 people.”
The cost of servicing the stands is relatively low since they will be using septic tanks and water reticulated from two boreholes drilled in the area.
Mr Moyo said the development initiative was part of efforts to upgrade the growth point into a modern peri-urban centre.
Laying of water reticulation pipes has been completed while a place for the proposed dump site has been identified.
Building had begun on two-thirds of the housing stands and that 15 percent had been fully developed.
Mr Moyo added: “As a local authority, we are implementing this project in line with the NDS1 and Vision 2030.
“So, our idea is to transform most growth points including Tshaswingo, Tongwe, Zezani, and Shashe, and turn them into peri-urban townships with light industries and all the necessary services an urban centre should have.
“The trust by the Government is to promote rural transformation and we are carrying out our capital projects with that same vision.”
More housing and business stands would be allocated around the area once approved by the Department of Physical Planning.
Apart from housing stands the area has an abattoir that services large parts of Beitbridge East, a police station, a primary and a secondary school, a vocational training centre, a modest dumpsite, a piped water scheme supplied by boreholes, veterinary services offices, two lodges, and standard flea market stalls.
In addition, the local community is working with the Beitbridge RDC to construct a polyclinic.
A local businessman, Mr Oscar Chiromo, said it was critical for council to review its rates and provide more land to attract investment in meaningful businesses.
Career development worker Mr Enock Kwinika said: “This place has great potential to develop in like most dormitory towns in the country considering its strategic location along the Beitbridge to Harare highway.
“Of late, there has been a relative interest by people and organisations seeking to set base here.”
Mrs Tshifhiwa Ndou said the area had been developing at a faster rate in terms of housing development and that it was critical for Zesa’s electricity distribution arm, ZETDC, to increase its coverage in the area.
Although some houses were running on solar energy, it was important for the area to have grid electricity to power some light industries.
The growth point, said Mrs Ndou, was essential to most areas in Beitbridge East and that its modernisation would have spillover effects in most rural areas.
Ms Grace Moyo concurred that the place had been changing in the last five years.
“We hope the council will keep availing more services that are synonymous with every urban settlement,” she said. “We urgently need a clinic, post office, a bank, pharmacy, and a few sub-offices offering critical Government services like births and deaths registration.”
A businessman, Mr Felix Venge, said council should come up with proper sewer systems, create more industries, avail land for business complexes and bigger departmental stores to ease the burden that rural communities were encountering when getting to the border town.
Online Reporter