THE government last week dispersed $300 000 for the rehabilitation, repair and flushing of boreholes in all the 25 wards of Matobo district.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
Speaking at the Matobo District Community Policy Dialogue Meeting hosted by Habakkuk Trust in Maphisa, Matabeleland South, Water ministry’s engineer Maynard Nyikadzino said the money was part of the $1,5 million allocated for the rehabilitation of 700 boreholes in Sanyati, Matobo, Mberengwa, Bubi and Kariba.
“Some boreholes have long been drilled and it is still an ongoing process. We hope that the project will start taking form in this district as well,” he said.
The meeting was meant to come up with solutions on how the water crisis in Matobo could be resolved.
Matobo Rural District Council chief executive officer Enerst Ndlovu said most boreholes in the area were old and required urgent rehabilitation. Habakkuk Trust chief executive officer Dumisani Nkomo said the water crisis was a huge concern for the district and Matabeleland South as a whole “and action was, therefore, needed for the communities to feel empowered”.
“As Habakkuk Trust there is something we can always do for the community,” he said. “If the government has allocated $300 000 for all the 25 wards of the Matobo district, this means that each ward would receive $12 000. We, therefore, together with the community, have to prioritise Budget tracking where we make a follow-up to see if this money has indeed been channelled in the right direction.”
Villagers, however, expressed concern that the money would not be enough considering that the district’s population was high and had few boreholes. Ward eight councillor Sibangani Ncube expressed concern at the district’s few water points, saying the crisis could only be addressed effectively through drilling new boreholes.
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“Each borehole is expected to service around 250 people, but the district has more than 250 households,” he said. “Drilling of new boreholes would be better than the resuscitation of a few boreholes that are already not enough.”
The Water ministry said the government was planning on constructing the Thuli-Manyange Dam, a long-term project meant to increase water supply in Matabeleland South.
