The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube in Lupane
THE Government is now accelerating its efforts to achieve various benchmarks that were set under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and the Vision 2030 goal of the country becoming an upper middle-class economy, President Mnangagwa said yesterday.
He said this during the commissioning of the Lupane Water Supply station and the Bubi-Lupane irrigation Vision 2030 acceleration model in Lupane.
The President said the establishment of Bubi-Lupane Irrigation Scheme and the Lupane Water Treatment Works projects are a reflection and testimony of the hard work, dedication, professionalism and honest result oriented work ethic of the Second Republic.
The commissioning of the two projects come after the President, in February commissioned the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Pipeline and the Epping Forest Water Supply and Augmentation Project for the City of Bulawayo.
“These various projects demonstrate that my Government continues to work tirelessly to ensure that the benchmarks set out in the National Development Strategy-1 (NDS-1) are attained. My administration thus continues to realise these critical benchmarks as we re-double our efforts to lay the necessary foundations for improved agricultural production. To this end, Government is expediting the multi-pronged development of water and sanitation, infrastructure and the evacuation of water for utilisation, rehabilitation and revitalisation of irrigation schemes across all districts of the country. To date, over $10 billion has been allocated for dam construction and the development of irrigation schemes,” he said.
He revealed that the allocated funds will see at least 350 000 hectares of land being put under irrigation by 2025.
The President noted that the deliberate and timely policy on the need to craft master plans for dams under construction, detailing how the water must be utilised, should equally be speeded up and operationalised. President Mnangagwa said the Second Republic remained committed to re-modelling irrigation schemes so that they are run productively, viably and sustainably, which has since seen the deployment of resident Irrigation Scheme Business Managers under Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) to ensure that all the schemes are run as businesses.
“The establishment of Bubi-Lupane Irrigation Scheme and Lupane Water Treatment Works projects are a reflection and testimony of the hard work, dedication, professionalism and honest result oriented work ethic of the Second Republic. This further underscores the power of a shared vision and unity of purpose in our endeavour to realise national development targets.
“To ensure sustainable development that leaves no one behind, we must, therefore, entrench these values across all communities and parts of our country as we all resolutely work towards the realisation of Vision 2030,” he said.
On the two Lupane projects the President called on the province, local authorities and other stakeholders, to focus on their comparative advantages and ensure the sustainable transformation and development of Lupane into a more attractive investment destination, as well as industrial and commercial centre. He said the use of contemporary urban land use planning technologies, models and infrastructure development standards aligned to the country’s vision must be adopted.
“Under the Second Republic, the holistic completion of development projects is key to spurring production, productivity and profitability across all sectors of the economy. This recently completed Lupane Water Treatment Plant is set to improve water supplies to Lupane Town and surrounding communities. Leveraging on the availability of clean and safe water supplies, among other key utilities, Lupane as an administrative capital of Matabeleland North Province must urgently be transformed to become a modern smart city.This will go a long way in broadening economic opportunities for local communities and accelerating the establishment of rural industries,” said President Mnangagwa.
The President said the Bubi-Lupane Irrigation scheme was one of the pioneers of the Vision 2030 Accelerator Model with other irrigation schemes in the country being modelled around it. He said the successes of the community will be replicated and used as a source of inspiration for other districts, with the community set to be employed at the scheme and get a monthly salary with massive returns after every cropping season.
“This seeks to create rural industry systems and structures through rapid transformation, industrialisation and broad based economic growth and development. I therefore, urge you to work hard, to be innovative and deploy your various skills to record more success stories out of this irrigation scheme.
“I challenge the community of Lupane District and Matabeleland North as a whole to put shoulder to the wheel, increasing production and productivity, leveraging on projects such as this one and other comparative advantages of the province. None but our selves will build our communities and our country. True empowerment and sustainable development will only be realised through greater participation of communities, especially women and youth in National development projects and programmes,” said the President.
The President said the Gwayi Shangani Lake construction was well on course and completion was set for December, with the contractors for the pipeline already in place so as to finally bring a lasting solution to the perennial water challenges.
“The construction of Gwayi-Shangani Dam, which is an integral component of the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project, is ongoing. Its completion and that of the Gwayi-Shangani Bulawayo pipeline entails the creation of a green belt for communities along the route.
“Meanwhile, the construction of Ziminya Dam here in Matabeleland North, and Tuli-Manyange Dam in Matabeleland South will enhance the existing water storage capacity in these provinces. This will in turn transform these regions from being mainly for livestock farming to diversified cropping activities. The Matabeleland region therefore, possesses immense potential for growing crops for food self-sufficiency as well as export into the region,” he said.
The commissioning ceremonies were also attended by Vice-President Dr Constantino Chiwenga, Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, Cde Oppah Muchinguri- Kashiri, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement and Development, Dr Anxious Masuka, Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Cde July Moyo, Minister of Women Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni, Minister of State for National Security, Cde Owen Ncube, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Matabeleland North Province, Cde Richard Moyo, Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Cde Raymore Machingura, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Cde Raj Modi, Minister of State in charge of Monitoring and the Implementation of Special Agricultural programmes, Cde Davis Marapira and the Minister of State in the office of the Vice-President, Dr Evelyn Ndlovu.
