Bulawayo is coming alive again, its abuzz with restoration work

As this is being written, Zimbabwe's second city - Bulawayo - is abuzz with restoration work. There are a number of middle to large scale projects being conducted by the City Council, amongst which are road repairs and remaking. In addition to this, infrastructural work by private sector entities has commenced.

However, the rather interesting aspect is the increasing number of community initiated resuscitation activities occurring in local neighbourhoods.

These are usually in the form of environmental clean-ups, drain clearing, sprucing up a community children's playground or the repair of a road culvert. To some people, such activity may appear insignificant.

It is however, a quantum leap for those concerned about the restoration of orderly circumstances that contribute to enhanced service delivery systems and thereby improved living
conditions for ordinary residents.

Bearing this in mind, this writer tends to agree with a visitor who came to the City after a long stay in the diaspora, who recently remarked; "Bulawayo is coming alive again."

In all this frenetic activity, ZDDT has not been standing idly by. The Trust is right in there with the rest of them, implementing and facilitating community restoration initiatives, which the aforementioned resuscitation works are part of, in some instances.

Currently, ZDDT is engaged with the City of Bulawayo in a programme titled "The Local Authority Capacity Building Programme," that is aimed at improving service delivery through hands-on training initiatives and other essential interventions. Development partner GIZ, working with the German Government, are the Programme's funders.