Umguza Community Share Ownership Scheme bears fruit

Prosper Ndlovu Senior Chronicle Reporter
THE Community Share Ownership Scheme/Trust has started bearing fruits in Umguza District in Matabeleland North province where the community used money from the scheme to buyborehole drilling equipment and an eight-tonne truck.
The district received $1 million from Pretoria Portland Cement as proceeds from the 10 percent share the community holds in the company.
The community intends to use money from the scheme to fund development projects such as drilling boreholes, constructing schools, clinics, roads and bridges.

In an interview yesterday the trust chairman, Chief Ndondo of Mbembesi said the trust had recruited staff to assist in implementing development projects.

“The community has bought borehole drilling equipment and that means we are now able to drill more boreholes at a little cost.
The machinery was delivered two weeks ago.

“We have also bought an eight-tonne truck to be used for transporting seed, food and fuel for the borehole drilling machine,” said Chief Ndondo.

He said the machine could drill boreholes that were up to 450 metres deep.
Although he could not be drawn to disclose the amount so far spent, Chief Ndondo said the community still had some money to cover operational costs.

He said the new equipment was officially commissioned on Friday by the Minister of Youth Development Indigenisation and Empowerment Cde Francis Nhema and area MP Dr Obert Mpofu who is also the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development.

Umguza is the only district in Matabeleland North province that has so far benefited from the scheme.
Other participating companies in the province are yet to honour their pledges of up to $15 million after President Mugabe launched the scheme in Hwange in October last year.

The CSOS/T is a Government initiative under the indigenisation programme aimed at ensuring that communities have shares in companies that exploit natural resources in their areas and use the proceeds from the shares to fund development projects in their respective areas.

The programme is already transforming lives across the country where it has been launched.