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Herald Reporter
Rural District Councils have been urged to dissect the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation to identify sections which they can start implementing without help from donors.
The call was made by Chivi Rural District Council chairman councillor Killer Zivhu after he donated US$5 400 to 18 chiefs from the district to buy heifers for each of them to build up a herd to be used by the community as draught power.
The heifers would be bought under a programme named “Danga raMambo”, whose main beneficiaries would be widows and orphans, who would have access to the cattle for use in their fields.
Apart from ensuring food security, the scheme would help with the restocking of the depleted cattle herd in the district, another important requirement of the Zim-Asset.
Addressing chiefs and councillors at the Chivi Rural District offices on Saturday, Cllr Zivhu said the new programme would ensure that one of the major pillars of Zim-Asset, the food and nutrition cluster, is successfully implemented.
Many families in the district have been failing to meet household food requirements because of lack of draught power.
“Zim-Asset does not need you to have lots of money to implement because no one will come with that money,” he said. “Zim-Asset is a big document, but we must, as councillors, choose what we can implement on our own.
“With the little you have, you can carefully study the document and identify the areas you can work on.
“Some of our roads in the district are very bad, but chiefs and councillors can mobilise people in their areas and work on patches of the roads to make them passable. By doing that small contribution, you will be moving the infrastructure provision of Zim-Asset forward.”
Cllr Zivhu urged councillors to desist from politicking and concentrate on working with their communities to ensure there was development in their areas.
Speaking on behalf of the chiefs, Chief Chivi said the cattle project would be a relief to the vulnerable in his area and thanked Cllr Zivhu for the initiative.
He urged the chiefs to look after the heifers well and ensure that they were kept under conditions that encouraged them to breed.
“The ball is now in your court as chiefs,” he said. “I urge you to look after the cattle well since they will help people in our areas to produce enough food.”
Chief Chivi urged chiefs and councillors in the district to work together in implementing Government programmes.
“I am proud of our councillors and chiefs for the contributions you are making to this big project, which came from the Government called Zim-Asset. Let us continue mobilising people, but we must desist from being corrupt.”
Cllr Zivhu has initiated a number of projects in the area to help people come out of poverty, including the “Wezhira Ndionewo” project which encourages people from the district to help each other.
Online Reporter