The Sunday News
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Plumtree Correspondent
VILLAGERS in Tshitshi Ward in Mangwe District have secured funding to rehabilitate two dams that have been lying idle for more than 16 years.
The area’s councillor, Clr Sindisiwe Nleya said Amalima was assisting villagers in rehabilitating Fumabazhe Dam while Pro Africa was funding Tjingababili Dam.
She said works started last month at Fumabazhe Dam while rehabilitation of Tjingababili Dam will start soon.
“We have two medium dams within the ward but they haven’t been functional for the past 16 years. As a community we resolved that there was a need to revive these two dams and we managed to get investors. Amalima is already assisting in funding Fumabazhe Dam while Pro Africa has allocated $126 000 towards Tjingababili Dam,” she said.
Clr Nleya said they had plans to establish income generating projects for community members once the rehabilitation of the dams is complete.
She said the ward has several small-scale irrigation schemes which were closed due to shortage of water. Clr Nleya said under the Fumabazhe Dam project Amalima had employed 150 villagers from the ward to provide labour. She said each villager was earning $30 for every 15 days worked.
Clr Nleya said the organisation was also assisting with technical expertise for the project and has pledged 300 bags of cement for the project.
She said diasporians from the ward have also mobilised $650 towards the project which will be directed towards buying heavy machinery.
“The Amalima project will run for three months and we hope that by then the project will be at an advanced stage. Villagers have been digging manually but locals working in South Africa have mobilised $650 and we will use this money to buy a bulldozer and tipper to speed up the process of rehabilitating the dam,’’ she said.
Clr Nleya said the community came up with the idea to rehabilitate the two dams two years ago. She said they have been struggling to secure funding which they managed to get this year.
