By Rex Mphisa
A BEITBRIDGE traditional leader has appealed to the government to revive one of its ailing arms, the District Development Fund (DDF), for the benefit of millions of Zimbabwe’s rural population.
The DDF was once responsible for the creation and maintenance of 33 000 kilometres of the rural road network, drilling thousands of boreholes as well as building earth dams and wells.
It also trained villagers in borehole maintenance over and above the construction of irrigation schemes.
Chief David Mbedzi said the DDF, which now falls under the President’s Office, was currently crippled, underfunded and it’s work barely visible much to the detriment of development.
“To the greater part Zimbabwe’s population in villages, where the bulk of our people live, the department was responsible for several developmental work and we appeal to government to rejuvenate it,” he said to the people who gathered in Beitbridge last week for the National Clean-Up Campaign presided over by Vice-President Kembo Mohadi.
“It now falls under your office, and we are asking that you resuscitate it for our (rural people) to benefit,” the youthful chief said.
At 25 and a university student, Mbedzi, whose title is VhoMusanda (Chief) Sitauze, has an unquestionable appreciation of developmental subjects.
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“DDF helped us to get boreholes, dams, wells and good roads which made our lives easy, but it’s not visible anymore,” he said.
DDF, a quasi-government department under the Office of the President, tasked with the development and maintenance of infrastructure, water supplies, including roads services hire of plant and equipment, was created under a revised 1982 Act of Parliament.
Previously called the African Development Fund prior to the 1982 revision, the Act provided for the control and application of a fund to develop communal land or other areas declared as such by the government.
It also built clinics and ran as a development partner of the then Local Government, Rural and Urban Development ministry, which trained mechanics, borehole technicians and road builders.
It became largely dysfunctional when Cabinet ministers abused it for personal projects, something which the body’s top management is believed to have capitalised on to enrich themselves.
In response, Mohadi said government would look into the issue and report back to traditional leaders.
“I have within my office a minister who is here and we will look at the issues raised. I ask the Chief (Sitauze) to brief the minister on all the concerns,” Mohadi said.
