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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
More than 100 homesteads in Woodlands resettlement area outside Victoria Falls are set to benefit from a solar powered borehole donated by a local tour operator which will also provide water for livestock.
The settlement, located in the Zambezi National Park, was established in 2001 when 89 villagers were resettled on a safari farm during the land reform programme and the settlers had no reliable water supply.
The four villages which are Dunu, Siyaphumelela, Sisonke and Baobab have a combined 118 homesteads. The villagers have been sharing water with livestock and wildlife over the years.
Tour operator Shearwater Adventures donated solar panels to resuscitate an old diesel-powered submersible borehole pump that had been lying idle due to fuel shortages.
Each household will ultimately get piped water as the project includes connecting water pipes to homes.
Shearwater public relations officer Mr Clement Mukwasi said the cost of the project will only be known after major works are done.
“This is the beginning of greater things to come. Our target is to see every homestead having a tap and this will include connecting pipes from the community taps to homesteads as well as increasing capacity of existing water reservoirs. We can achieve that through collaboration as stakeholders,” said Mr Mukwasi.
He said the provision of safe and clean drinking water was key the world over .
Mr Mukwasi said Shearwater is guided by the principle of Triple Ps which is Planet, People and Profit making.
This implies that the company endeavours to develop the flora and fauna in communities it operates in as well as capacitate people through various programmes for community co-existence as much as it seeks to make profit for the shareholder.
Some of the programmes border around conservation to reduce human-wildlife conflict.
Hwange Rural District Council (HRDC) public health and social services officer Mr Modern Mapani said the district faces critical water and sanitation challenges hence the need for partners to develop water sources.
“Our major thrust as HRDC in terms of development and service delivery is water, education and infrastructure. Access to water is our major challenge as a district. We have plans for development but lack resources hence we welcome partners as they help us achieve our goals to have self-sustaining communities,” he said.
Welcoming the project, Dunu village head Mr Josephat Sipulila and his Baobab village counterpart Mrs Sithandi Moyo said the borehole will ease water woes that had affected the community for close to two decades.
The community runs a hunting company called Word of Advice which occasionally carries out hunting activities.
Word of Advice board chairman Alderman Elias Mzamba called on people to work together.
A local wildlife trust, Zambezi Elephant Welfare and Conservation Trust (ZEWCT) is also conducting research on animal behaviour in the area after which findings will be used to educate the community on human-wildlife co-existence, said the Trust’s project leader, Mr Jake Rendle-Worthington. — @ncubeleon
Online Reporter
Londile Moyo