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Daniel Chigunwe Herald Correspondent
Water shortages that used to haunt a community under Chief Kazunga in Ward 19 of Guruve, have been extinguished after a local chrome mining company installed a borehole with solar-powered pumps, the first in a chain in the wider community surrounding the mine.
The borehole became the first in the Guruve-Muzarabani area where Alaska Chrome Mine is set to drill more boreholes in an effort to complement the Presidential Borehole Drilling Scheme launched by President Mnangagwa recently.
Speaking about the borehole last week, Zanu PF Politburo member Retired Brigadier General Epmarcus Kanhanga, called on mining investors in the area to replicate the borehole drilling scheme.
“Water scarcity issues are rife in Guruve and surrounding areas like Muzarabani and Mbire. As such, several projects to uplift the villagers have been hampered in the past years,” he said.
“It is not every day that we see private companies mining around here remembering the community in a way like this.
“It resonates well with our President’s mantra of leaving no place and no one behind.”
Alaska presently employs 200 people from Guruve.
It is set to drill four more boreholes by end of the year, with the director Mr Kudakwashe Zvinokona, saying the mine was ready to assist Government with free internet for rural schools.
The mine has an average output of 10 000 tonnes of chrome ore per month in the Muzarabani area.
“We are going to drill four more boreholes in this remaining part of the year,” said Mr Zvinokona.
“We have since spoken with the chiefs to identify worst affected areas. In Kazunga, we noticed that people had to walk more than 3km to fetch water from the only bush pump borehole around.”
Zimbabwe Miners Federation national secretary for chrome, Mr Shepherd Madzingira, implored local stakeholders to harmonise relations for accelerated development.
“We know Alaska as a major company in the chrome business and as such we call for stakeholders, especially those involved with rural district councils, safari companies, national heritage and monuments, parks and wildlife, as well as local political leadership to find common grounds in whatever challenge that may affect mining activities,” he said.
A villager, Mr Ngonidzashe Chaora, said, “We have 23 villages in this ward with the main source of water being the rivers which are dry during the hot season.
“We believe more projects of this sort might aid the growth of gardening projects in this area. This also ensures our livestock has better water provision.”
Online Reporter