The Sunday News
Belinda Moyo, Sunday News Reporter
AFTER claiming many people over the years, Enkwalini, popularly known as the pool of death is set to become a pool of hope after a local businessman leased the area to establish a massive fish and chicken rearing project.
Bulawayo City Council has leased the pool in Entumbane to a local businessman, Mr Remegious Nkomazana who has already initiated projects set to create employment for the locals.
Sunday News visited the pool last week and saw that it has been fenced while three security guards and two vicious dogs were on guard. In an interview, Mr Nkomazana revealed he got a five-year lease from the city council in October last year.
He has already built a chicken run that holds 6 000 chickens while plans are underway to increase the chickens to 20 000 and employ 20 people from the suburb.
“I got the lease in October last year and it is for five years. I am looking forward to putting projects that will create employment for the local people, so far I have built a chicken run that holds 6 000 chickens, my vision is that by the end of the year I will be keeping more than 20 000 chickens,” he said.
Mr Nkomazana added that the chicken project and fish farming will be the core projects that will be running at the pool while a little space has been reserved for vegetable growing. Ward 10 councillor Gladys Masuku said turning the pool into a business venture was also going to reduce cases of suicides in the area.
“This is a good initiative, it will reduce the frequency of suicides because of the tight security,” she said.
Mr Stanley Sibanda, a resident in Entumbane whose house is close to the pool said the fencing of the pool makes people feel safe as people can no longer just visit the area.
“People have been coming to the pool for various reasons, some cleansing, some baptising each other, so the security will reduce movement to and from the pool,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Nkomazana said he has banned people from fishing and fetching water from the pool but was alarmed as thieves were also vandalising the fence as he has already had two cases of the fence being stolen.
— @MoyoOlivet
