The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter
VILLAGERS in Matobo, Matabeleland South are upbeat that the end is in sight for their perennial water problems, as Government has embarked on a national Presidential Rural Horticulture Scheme that has so far seen 22 boreholes being drilled in the district.
The Presidential Rural Horticulture Scheme and Horticultural Recovery and Growth Plan programme seeks to uplift marginalised communities in line with the National Development Strategy (NDS1). Around 1 800 boreholes will be drilled this year, with a third almost at schools, for both horticultural production and primary water supplies with provincial leaders and local communities deciding where the drilling takes place.
The multi-year plan sees one borehole in every village and one at each of the 9 600 schools.
In Matobo District, a traditionally arid area where water problems are a constant headache for villagers, District Development Fund (DDF) has become a common sight, bringing joy and relief to villagers whose days in the past were spent on the search for water from distant sources.
Matobo District Development Co-ordinator Mr Obey Chaputsira told Sunday News in an interview last week that the boreholes will go a long way in alleviating water problems in the area.
“So far, there have been 22 boreholes that have been drilled under the programme. These are boreholes that are now ready for use by the community and we believe they will go a long way in alleviating some of the problems associated with water that people in the area have been facing,” he said.
While villagers were marvelling at the boreholes that had been drilled so far, Mr Chaputsira said more could have been done, with progress only stalled by a fault with the drilling rig.
“The programme is ongoing but it has been stalled by the fact that the DDF rig for Matabeleland South has broken down recently.
However, despite that we feel that the 22 boreholes that have been drilled so far will go a long way in helping people have access to portable water,” he said.
The Head Priest of the St Joseph’s Catholic Mission, Father Innocent Ndlovu said the change that had been brought on by the programme was commendable, as villagers had been battling to get access to clean water before the drilling of the boreholes.
Father Ndlovu said the revival of a community learning centre was one of the envisaged benefits of the drilling of the boreholes.
“We have some boreholes that are defunct now and we would like to see them revamped again. We have three or four of those at Joseph’s and if they were to be revived it would go a long way in helping the community further. We look forward to start a gardening scheme because of these boreholes that have been drilled.
“This will also bring a learning centre where people are to be taught about gardening so we are hoping this will help improve the lives of a lot of villagers,” he said.
In Tshipisani Village under Chief Bidi, headman Eliot Nyathi said the greater access to water would allow members of the community to flourish, as they never had water on their doorsteps before.
“They came and said they would drill boreholes. They also said they would build some infrastructure so that our young people, men, women and children can be working on projects. They want to work with the people so that this whole area can be uplifted. We would love that some people get into gardening. We also want them to start brick making but the problem is that we don’t have cement.
“If we used mud that would also require a lot of firewood which we don’t have so for now we shall stick to gardens because they give us food and money if we sell what we have produced,” he said.
Headman Nyathi said he hoped the programme will reach other villages that had so far not been covered.
“I don’t think as we go forward, water will be a problem. If I feel thirsty, I just get a container and get water because the borehole is a walking distance. There are some areas near here still under Tshipisani that do not have water. We have been fortunate to have been reached by this programme and it looks like we will benefit from having the best water so I would love to see other villagers also get the same benefits,” he said.
