The Sunday News
Vincent Gono, News Editor
FOR a number of decades, Matabeleland North was regarded as one of the marginalised provinces in the country where its communities have been presented as poverty stricken with basic infrastructure development such as hospitals, schools, colleges, roads and even universities maintaining baby steps.
It was, however, not until President Mnangagwa got in to the national executive cockpit that the province has seen accelerated development bringing the once neglected province at par with others through provision of state of the art infrastructure. Its is now the envy of many.
Construction at Lake Gwayi-Shangani
President Mnangagwa has demonstrated in no small measure a sincere willingness to extend a listening ear and a readiness to tackle the problems of Matabeleland North wrought by history as he rallies the country towards the attainment of Vision 2030 whose import is 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.
Roads that were old and littered with potholes have been reconstructed and made trafficable while clinics, schools, bridges, dams and irrigation schemes have been brought to the communities’ doorsteps in the seven districts of the province after he actualized the concept of devolution.
Information Communication Technology (ICT) equipment has 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.
While evidence of the devolution footprints is there for all to see, capital projects that are outside devolution are a clear demonstration of a political leadership that walks the “leaving no-one and no place behind” development aphorism coined by President Mnangagwa.
In a wide-ranging interview at his Mhlahlandlela Government Complex offices in Bulawayo, Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister for Matabeleland North Province Cde Richard Moyo told Sunday News 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).
Matabeleland North capital projects junior staff cottage inside
He said it was fascinating that the new political dispensation 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 000has of land have been identified for irrigation is going to unlock the food security potential of the province and the communities are reveling 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 this year,” 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 10 000 hectares (ha) 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 also talked about the refurbishment of Unit 7 and 8 of the Hwange Thermal Power Station saying Unit 7 is expected to be commissioned by President Mnangagwa anytime soon after its refurbishment was completed. It will add 300 MW to the national grid and ease the country’s electricity challenges that has seen households and industry being shed off. He said Unit 8 should be ready for commissioning in June this year and that would add another significant amount of power sufficient to meet the country’s needs and even a surplus for export. Minister Moyo said it was through President Mnangagwa’s visionary leadership that all the projects were being implemented as the country make strides into energy self-sufficiency in an era where regional counterparts are struggling with adequate energy provision.
“We are hoping to export power before the end of this year because we will be having enough for ourselves after the commissioning of Unit 7 and 8. With adequate power, industry will go full throttle aiding to the achievement of vision 2030. All this is courtesy of the astuteness of President Mnangagwa’s leadership,” he said.
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 700has 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 400has Bulawayo-Kraal irrigation scheme in Binga which he said was going to be expanded to 1500ha 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 our relocation should be complete by June this year. 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 at 20 percent completion. There is also the Lupane State University hostels that are under construction while I am delighted to announce that the Tsholotsho flood victims’ houses are now complete,” 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 consider 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 a 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.
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 and no place was left behind.
