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Bulawayo Bureau
VICE President Constantino Chiwenga has hailed the Presidential Rural Development Scheme, saying it will play a critical role in reversing the prevailing cross-border migration by communities living in areas along the border.
The Presidential Rural Development Scheme, which was officially launched by President Mnangagwa on Wednesday at Jinjika village, Makorokoro area of Mangwe District in Matabeleland South, will benefit more than 1,8 million households.
The programme is in line with the benchmarks outlined in the Agriculture and Food System Transformation Strategy whose national thrust is to see Zimbabwe achieving a US$8,2 billion agriculture economy by 2025.
The community of Makorokoro were first to benefit from the programme, which will be replicated across all 35 000 villages in the country to spur the growth needed in the smallholder sector and boost rural development.
Under the Presidential Rural Development Scheme, the Government will drill and equip one borehole in each of the country’s 35 000 villages. Each village will also be empowered with a nutrition garden with a wide range of fruit trees and sweet potato vines being distributed to households.
In his remarks during the launch of Presidential Rural Development Scheme, VP Chiwenga said the Presidential programme will reduce rural to urban migration and generate employment for youths in Makorokoro, which lies along the border thus reversing cross-border migration to neighbouring countries
“The country is set to witness reverse migration when those in urban areas begin to see greener pastures in the rural and outlying areas of the country. We will leverage on the fertile soils and conducive climate conditions obtaining in the areas along our border,” he said.
“Not only are we going to reverse the migration into urban areas, but reverse migration into Botswana and South Africa. We are going to build our own Zimbabwe that we want.”
VP Chiwenga said the Presidential Rural Development Scheme is a giant step towards the attainment of an empowered upper middle-income economy by 2030.
“It is the beginning of a very important phase of the Second Republic’s efforts to empower and inclusively develop our rural communities in line with the thrust of the people centred Government led by the President His Excellency Cde ED Mnangagwa to ensure that no one and no place is left behind,” he said.
“The President Rural Development Scheme is part of Government’s tremendous efforts to improve our rural communities thereby positioning them to the country’s economic development in pursuit of the aspired Vision 2030 whose attainment is increasingly becoming a reality for this country.”
VP Chiwenga said as outlined in the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) to propel the country towards Vision 2030, rural communities will no longer be assigned to the peripheral, but core activities of the economy.
“It is encouraging to note that under this scheme the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development through diverse agencies and partners will lead a programme to establish horticulture project in every village in Zimbabwe.
“The Zimbabwe National Water Authority is poised to equip and drill boreholes in wards, villages and schools around the country informed by the whole of Government approach. Thanks to the able leadership President Mnangagwa,” he said.
The Vice President said the Second Republic is accelerating rural modernisation and industrialisation to create jobs, improve livelihoods and transform lives of once marginalised rural communities.
“Villages across the country will be empowered with nutritious gardens for the health and commercial good of millions of our hitherto marginalised people,” he said.
Online Reporter