The Sunday News
Vincent Gono, News Editor
AS 2023 screeches to an exhaustive halt today, communities in most parts of Matabeleland North Province are revelling in the many infrastructure development projects that were wrought by the Second Republic with more than a dozen capital projects having taken shape during the course of the year.
Prior to the advent of the political dispensation led by President Mnangagwa, the province existed as one of the country’s neglected stepchild with a number of communities feeling marginalised.
Provision of basic infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, colleges, roads, dams and even universities have maintained baby steps.
The ushering in of the Second Republic, however, change the development narrative and saw accelerated development with state-of-the-art infrastructure projects that speak to modernity leaving other provinces envious.
In an interview on Thursday, Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister for Matabeleland North Province Cde Richard Moyo said President Mnangagwa had demonstrated an unwavering commitment to development, a political willingness and unmatched readiness to tackle the problems of Matabeleland North wrought by history as he rallies the country towards the attainment of Vision 2030 whose import was of having an upper middle-class economy.
“He is doing that through infrastructure development that is responsive to the needs of communities as evidenced by the expedition of projects that had taken forever to complete in the previous political administration.
“Under his tutelage we have seen clinics, schools, bridges, dams and irrigation schemes being brought to the communities’ doorsteps in the seven districts of the province after he actualised the concept of devolution,” he said.
Minister Moyo said the signature projects brought to Matabeleland North include the expansion of Hwange Thermal Power Station Unit 7 and 8, the significant progress of Lake Gwayi-Shangani, the Lupane Provincial Hospital, Provincial Offices, Lupane State University (LSU) student hostels, Bulawayo Kraal irrigation in Binga, Binga mortuary, Binga training school and the airstrip, the upgrading of the Victoria Falls International Airport, the Hwange Teachers’ College among other that were at various levels of completion.
He added that Information Communication Technology (ICT) equipment had also been set in areas where there was no access to communication making life a lot much easier to those in the country side especially those in areas close to the country’s borders who were accessing radio and TV signal from neighbouring countries.
The communities were therefore cut out from the rest of the country and were somehow lost in terms of belonging and identity which is majorly a social construct.
Minister Moyo said capital projects that were outside devolution were a clear demonstration of a political leadership that walks the talk of “leaving no one and no place behind” development aphorism coined by President Mnangagwa.
He said the projects were testimony that President Mnangagwa was grounded in the reality of people’s concerns and troubles and was no stranger to what needed to be done in Matabeleland North and the country as a whole as espoused in the economic blueprint, the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
He said it was fascinating that the Second Republic hit the ground running by taking up, funding and setting achievable completion timelines for all the stalled projects in the region that separated it from the rest of the country and left its communities feeling neglected.
He said there was ample evidence to suggest that the devolution funds were a great deal to the previous marginalised communities who now have a say in the development of their areas.
A number of projects have been made a dream come true in Matabeleland North that have brought a lot of hope to the communities that spoke glowingly of the Second Republic with a sense of involvement.
Lake Gwayi-Shangani
At 70 percent completion, Lake Gwayi-Shangani has remained the flagship of the projects in Matabeleland North due to the magnificence of its importance and the time it had taken to materialise. By design of natural geography, the province had survived as a drought-prone one making it a livestock region, except for a few districts that have been doing crop farming with success.
The actualisation of Gwayi-Shangani and the envisioned greenbelt through a pipeline where 10 000 hectares of land have been identified for irrigation is going to unlock the food security potential of the province and the communities are revelling in that hope.
“Capital projects such as Lake Gwayi-Shangani which is an important component of the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (NMZWP) mooted in 1912 were financed by the Second Republic and work is in progress. We are happy with the progress. It is at 70 percent completion and it should be complete by the first or second quarter of 2024,” said Minister Moyo.
The project is also expected to arrest the relocation and closure of industry in Bulawayo that is no longer a preferred investment destination owing to the perennial water shortages.
It is also going to create a greenbelt downstream where irrigation land has already been set and communities are expected to benefit from the water.
“Almost all the districts are going to benefit from Gwayi-Shangani water. We have set 10 000ha of irrigation land and six stations of 400ha each where communities in Lupane, Tsholotsho and Umguza are going to benefit. In the long term, we are also looking at exporting some of the water to South Africa.
“There are going to be tourism activities too. Boat cruises, hotels and conference facilities are going to be set up around the lake and that will enhance the province’s economic contribution to the national purse as well as improve the lives of its people,” said Minister Moyo.
Hwange Unit 7 and 8
The minister said the refurbishment of Unit 7 and 8 of the Hwange Thermal Power Station that was commissioned by President Mnangagwa that added 300MW to the national grid eased electricity shortages in the country.
Prior to their commissioning, the country was going for long hours of electricity shedding affecting both households and industry weighing down economic activity in the process.
Minister Moyo said it was through President Mnangagwa’s visionary leadership that seeks energy self-sufficiency in an era where regional counterparts were struggling with adequate energy provision.
Irrigation development
Minister Moyo said there were a number of irrigation schemes that have been put in place to ensure food security from the communities in the province. He mentioned the Bubi-Lupane Irrigation expansion to 700 hectares saying it was also a milestone achievement of the Second Republic and its commitment to ensuring food security in the province.
He shared the success story of the beneficiaries of the Bubi-Lupane Irrigation where 94 households who are beneficiaries got a dividend of US$1 500 each after trading their wheat crop last year.
He said a number of the farmers under the scheme were developing their homes and improving their livelihoods.
He also mentioned the 400 hectares Bulawayo-Kraal irrigation scheme in Binga which he said was going to be expanded to 1 500 hectares in the long-run. “Water was drawn 14km away but now there is a contractor working to reduce the distance to 2km. The completion of Lake Gwayi-Shangani is therefore going to immerse the province in permanent food self-sufficiency as the communities have demonstrated the willingness to work on improving their lives,” he said.
Infrastructure development
The minister spoke about the developments at Lupane Centre that he said was being developed as the province’s capital. He said there was significant development with state-of-the-art structures.
“We have completed provincial offices at Lupane Centre and we should be relocating from Bulawayo to Lupane during the first quarter of 2024. I am not supposed to superintend my province while in the jurisdiction of another province. I am supposed to be in Lupane and we are happy that about 40 houses including the Provincial Minister’s residence have been completed.
“We also have the Lupane Provincial Hospital which is going to be one of the biggest hospitals in the country which is making considerable progress. There are also the Lupane State University hostels that are under construction while I am delighted to announce that the Tsholotsho flood victims’ houses have been completed,” said Minister Moyo.
He said prior to the development of Lupane Provincial Hospital, the province depended on St Luke’s which was a private institution while serious cases were referred to Mpilo and UBH in Bulawayo from as far as Binga which was an anomaly.
The minister mentioned the innovation hub at Lupane State University saying the university was important in the community for providing solutions to the people’s problems. He said they were breeding goats, chicken, pigs and therefore improving local breeds of those animals.
Devolution
Through devolution funds the province has not been spared in the tide of community development with a number of clinics, schools, bridges and roads that are being worked on using devolution funds in the districts such as Lupane, Tsholotsho, Umguza, Bubi and Nkayi.
“There has been remarkable progress in terms of infrastructure development. We have seen churches and other donors also coming in to assist in developing schools and clinics in resettlement areas where they were shunning because of the link to the land reform programme and that is positive.
“We have Maboleni Clinic and Insuza Clinic in Umguza having been developed with devolution funds. We also have two classroom blocks at Joana Mafuyana Primary School and other tangible developments in all district across the province,” he said.
Roads
The Minister said Government was also working on the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road, Bulawayo-Tsholotsho Road and the Binga-Siabuwa-Karoi Road which he said had a 10km stretch done so far. He urged the Government to give tenders to reputable companies saying some of the companies contracted to do the roads were doing a shoddy job putting an expense to the Government.
He also said it was crucial for the Government to expedite the Byo-Victoria Falls Road upgrade as it was one of the most important highways used by tourists.
Binga and Tsholotsho
In Binga which was one of the underdeveloped districts, he said the President gave 30 fishing rigs to traditional leaders while youths and women got five each. Binga also benefited from a nurse training school while Binga Polytechnic is being developed.
He further commended the Second Republic for its inclusiveness by affording the San Community in Tsholotsho the opportunity to get registration particulars and have a chief installed giving them a voice and making them an equal part of the Zimbabwean community.
“In short, we have achieved so much in a very short space of time and that should be commended and credit should be given to President Mnangagwa for such a sterling job and for championing development in Matabeleland North Province,” said Minister Moyo.
Gukurahundi
He also lauded the national healing efforts saying communities that were affected by post-independence disturbances were also afforded the opportunity to say out what they think should be done through traditional leaders, thereby shutting out political gladiators who were capitalising on the subject to gain political capital at the expense of real development.
He said President Mnangagwa was a man of few words and immense action who doesn’t look down upon anyone adding that it was his expressed desire for the people to move together in unity where no one was left behind.
