admin
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, [email protected]
FOR years, the people of Bemba Village under Chief Tategulu in Tsholotsho District, Matabeleland North Province shared water with domestic animals and sometimes wild animals especially elephants that occasionally stray into the villages from the nearby Hwange National Park.
The villagers were pushed to the wildlife infested area by the country’s brutal colonisers.
The only borehole that was drilled by the colonialist government was no longer meeting the requirements of the people in the area and frequently broke down as the population grew.
According to the 2022 Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) census report, the area, under Ward Two, had a population of 4 956 of which 2 310 were males and 2 646 were females.
Bemba Village in particular has 30 homesteads under village head Mr Peter Ndlovu and humans and domestic animals were being supplied by the single unreliable borehole.
According to Mr Ndlovu, they would spend a minimum of 10 hours pumping water from the borehole for their cattle and other domestic animals to drink.
However, their lives took a dramatic turn for the better with the coming in of the New Dispensation under the leadership of President Mnangagwa in 2017.
An application for land to the Tsholotsho Rural District Council by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) was granted beginning the process of setting up a pioneer 60 Kw solar project in the area, the first of its kind to be undertaken by the Rural Electrification Fund since 2002.
The Rural Electrification Fund (REF) is a statutory body governed by the Rural Electrification Fund Act (Chapter 13:20).
Post-independence, the Government gave high priority to rural infrastructure development programmes, which included the rural electrification programme. The policy framework was a deliberate effort to correct the imbalances between urban and rural electrification with the ultimate goal of socially and financially empowering the rural communities and enhancing their capabilities in their contribution towards the economic development of the country.
“The solar plant has had a significant impact in our lives; not only did it bring electricity to our homes but the hardships we were experiencing in terms of water scarcity are now history, not to mention the fact that we’re now getting some source of income too,” said Mr Ndlovu in an interview at his grass thatched, electrified homestead in Bemba recently.
It is not just his homestead that is electrified but the entire village has been electrified too.
Villagers now have television sets and radios which provide them with entertainment and keep them well informed of national developments.
Bemba Primary School is also a beneficiary of the solar plant and its teachers need not worry about living in darkness as their cottages have all been connected to electricity. All the cottages now have satellite dishes which is a plus to the community as most rural schools were shunned by teachers as a result of the absence of basics such as electricity.
Local shops are now able to sell perishables without fear of running into losses, as they now have refrigerators, resulting in improved profits for them.
“As you can see, we have cold drinks here and on top there we have the cash power to top up power. Business took a turn for the better since Government put up the solar project in this area,” said a shop attendant at one of the shops.
The Bemba solar project came at a time when the Second Republic had intensified its drive for renewed energy inspired by the demand and a need to balance environmental interest and climate change concerns. It also resonates well with the Government’s resolve to stem rural-to-urban migration by promoting rural industrialisation.
Rural industrialisation, which enjoys undivided support through the Second Republic’s devolution policy, involves nurturing agro-processing start-up enterprises in rural areas through financial and technological support via venture capital funding and Government agencies.
Tsholotsho District Development Coordinator, Mr Aaron Gono said the solar plant will turn around the district’s economy which is in line with President Mnangagwa’s philosophy of leaving no one and no place behind.
Tsholotsho was recently granted town status as it continues to expand and develop.
To capacitate the Bemba electricity beneficiaries, the Department of Agritex in partnership with the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) cleared an area stretching about two hectares to enable them to embark on irrigation farming and REF provided electricity to the pump.
REF installed a 10 000 litre tank for water storage for the irrigation scheme and provided piped water to the cattle drinking trough.
At the nutrition garden, villagers are growing various crops including tomatoes, chomolia, beetroot, cabbages, carrots, sweet potato, butternut and maize for subsistence while the surplus is sold to generate income.
For Mrs Violet Ncube, the nutrition garden is an opportunity for her and her family to become self-reliant and food secure.
“This garden has improved our lives as you can see. The soil is not very rich in terms of nutrients but that doesn’t deter us at all. We’re always busy working on the field which is now very easy as watering is done using the irrigation pipe that was installed and is powered by electricity from the solar plant,” she said.
Mrs Ncube said because they loved farming, they used to have small gardens at their homesteads but it was labour-intensive and time-consuming due to water scarcity.
“The situation here has really improved since Government put up this solar plant. We’re now able to sell produce from the garden and using that income, meet other expenses such as school fees, medical needs and improve our general lifestyle,” she said.
Another villager, Mrs Ennet Ndlovu said she started by growing tomatoes which she harvested and sold, realising much-needed income.
“I can’t complain to be honest, especially when comparing with what we used to do before this solar plant was put up here. Before that, thinking of water brought so much stress because it meant hours of toil and struggle,” she said.
The villagers however said they could be realising more harvests from the garden had it not been for the troublesome Poaceae grass (uqethu) which is widespread in their garden and is always difficult to get rid of using chemicals, forcing them to physically uproot it, which eats into their production time.
“This grass is a big challenge. Besides reducing our yields, it needs a lot of energy and time to remove. We also understand that if we use chemicals, it will need five years for the soil to be ready for crop planting again, a risk we can’t take,” said Ms Shalune Dube.
Online Reporter