The Sunday News
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent
THE ongoing public works programme led by Government has not only become a tool for promoting development in rural communities but has brought a huge sigh of relief for many families that are hard hit by the prevailing drought situation.
Under the programme Government through the District Development Fund (DDF) working in collaboration with community members has embarked on several community developmental projects which include construction and maintenance of roads, drilling of boreholes, construction of bridges and classroom blocks. Beneficiaries are set to receive $160 and a 50kg bag of maize.
In Gwanda District, Matabeleland South some of the projects that have already been implemented in Ward 20 include drilling of three boreholes, construction of Dendele Bridge, construction of an ECD block at Ngoma Primary School and construction of Shanyawugwe-Ngoma- Sitakeni Road which is 18 kilometres long. One of the villagers who can attest to the benefits of this project is Mrs Ethel Moyo from Ngoma A Village in Ward 20. She is one of the 40 beneficiaries who were engaged to construct Dendele Bridge.
“I’m so grateful to the Government for introducing the public works programme because it has brought a huge relief to me and my family. I’m one of the people who were selected to build a bridge here in our village. The arrangement is convenient as we have to work for four hours a day which allows me to go back to my homestead and do my household chores and also work in my garden.
“After we complete our work we will each receive $160 and a bag of maize. This money and the maize will really help me in fending for my family. We have a serious drought situation in our area and we are struggling to put food on the table. This programme is what we really needed. It will also help to bring development to our community. We are glad to have a programme that is developing our community and that we are actively involved in and benefiting from,” she said.
Under the public works programme three boreholes have been drilled in Ngoma B Village, one for the community and two to supply Dendele Irrigation Scheme. One of the boreholes for the irrigation will be solar powered.
Ngoma B village head, Mr Dumisani Dube said the boreholes that had been drilled under the public works programme were going to go a long way in addressing water challenges in the area. He said villagers have been relying on Dendele Dam for water for domestic use, for livestock and watering crops at the irrigation but they were now stranded as it had dried up.
Mr Dube said they failed to harvest wheat they had planted at the irrigation during the winter season as most of it had wilted because of water challenges. He said the irrigation scheme has been a source of livelihood for about 40 households in his village since 2011 when it was opened.
Mr Dube said they have had a desire to expand the irrigation scheme but have failed because of water challenges.
“Now that we have these boreholes this has helped ease water challenges for us. The dam dried up and we were now struggling to get water. The crops that we had planted at the irrigation withered because of shortage of water. We usually plant maize, beans, wheat and butter nuts in this irrigation but of late our harvest has been poor because of water challenges.
“We have been getting our water from Dendele Dam but it’s now heavily silted and it dries up quicker than expected. By July the dam would have dried up and that will be way before the next rainy season. We have always wanted to expand the irrigation so that we can increase our yields but we have failed because of the water challenges. These boreholes are a huge sigh of relief for us as a community,” he said.
He said people had resorted to digging wells around the dam to get water to drink and for their animals. Mr Dube said his village has 96 homesteads and people were now relying on two boreholes for their water supplies as three others had dried up.
He said the road that was being constructed in his village would improve access to communities as transporters were now shunning the route because of the poor state of the road.
Matabeleland South Provincial DDF co-ordinator Mr Moment Malandu said 1 280 people in Matabeleland South Province are expected to benefit from the public works programme which started recently under drought relief mitigation programme.
He said under the DDF component of the programme 1 280 people were going to benefit and each would be paid $160 and also receive a bag of maize. He said those who will benefit under the programme are expected to work for 15 days. He said in Matabeleland South Province the public works programme started at the beginning of September after the President had declared the drought situation a State of disaster and it had started yielding positive results.
Road maintenance works under the programme include verge clearing, culvert cleaning and painting and gravel patching.
The public works programme is targeting able bodied people between the ages of 18 and 60 years old. Those above 60 years and the vulnerable who include people living with disabilities, orphaned children and the chronically ill are being given maize for free under the drought relief programme.
Matabeleland South Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Cde Abednico Ncube recently launched the public works programme in the province at Ngoma Primary School. He said so far work on
1 085 kilometres road network had started with 502 beneficiaries. During the launch Cde Ncube and officials from DDF conducted a tour of the projects that have been implemented in the ward.
