Faced with a perennial shortage of water and failure by the government to assist in solving the problem, villagers at Insuza in Bubi have built a dam using picks and shovels over the past ten years.
In an interview with NewsDay at Mathabiswana last Thursday, Village Development Committee co-ordinator Zwelihle Mhlanga said they took the initiative as a last resort.
“The idea of building a dam was mooted in 2001 when we realised there was urgent need to construct our own dam that will cater for the community’s needs.
The dam, which we have called Bonjeni Dam, will mitigate water woes in this area and provide water to our herds of cattle,” he said.
Despite concern from the villagers that they were not getting government assistance, Bubi MP Clifford Sibanda, under whose constituency the area falls, said there was nothing wrong with the move as it was a sign of a “hands-on development and community initiative”.
“I am well aware of the dam that is being constructed and I am looking into the issue,” said Sibanda.
“As MP for this area, I usually prefer that people initiate their own development so that when we seek aid it becomes evident that we really need aid. This is what happened with the Kenilworth clinic. I told villagers to spearhead their own development then later on organisations such as Arda pitched in to assist,” Sibanda said.
Mhlanga said villagers were also reconstructing boreholes in the area as most of them had broken down.
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“Our boreholes are wearing down and they need constant repair,” he said. “We would be glad if we got assistance to reconstruct our boreholes and help build our dam which will go a long way in alleviating the water crisis that we are experiencing.”
