Umzingwane MP embarks on roads rehab to unlock tourism, agriculture potential

ZANU-PF aspiring candidate for Umzingwane constituency Brigadier General (Rtd) Levi Mayihlome has embarked on a road rehabilitation programme targeting five prime roads which he says will unlock the tourism potential and revive agriculture in the constituency.

Brig Gen (Rtd) Mayihlome who will be vying for a second term after winning the party primary elections has already set the ball rolling after facilitating the tarring of Old Gwanda Road through a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement.

In an interview with Sunday News, Mayihlome said his election would provide an opportunity for him to finish off the work that he had started saying it takes some time to learn the ropes during the first term and processes tend to be slower.

"It is only the beginning of the work that we had started in the past five years. Things are a bit slow when you are going to Parliament for the first time. As you may know, work has already commenced on the Old Gwanda Road where we are constructing the road. That is one of the major projects that I would love to see go through.

"I would like to see five other roads tarred or surfaced in Umzingwane. We are tired of roads which are graded every three months and they get degraded because of over use. We want primary roads to be surfaced. The other two will be going to resort centres. One living Esigodini to Diana's Pool which is a beautiful resort place which is under patronised due to lack of proper roads. The third one will be Mawabeni to Mtshabezi Dam which is also another resort area. There is Lumene Falls, Mtshabezi Dam amd Gulabakwa Caves. So these are the five roads that we have identified with the local authority.

Government has already agreed to put the Old Bulawayo Road on the ERRP programme, all that remains is the funding," he said.

He said besides the Old Gwanda Road, they have the Old Bulawayo Road which starts from Mawabeni going to Nsezi, and further south going direct to Old Bulawayo kraal as well as the Falcon to Harare Road strip.

"The third road is the Falcon College to Harare Road strip. We want to have a link there which will be shorter for people wanting to go to Gweru or Harare to just go via Esigodini rather than going via Bulawayo," he said.

He said Umzingwane was equally endowed with tourist attractions which were UNESCO recognised but there was nothing to show because there were no roads going to those places.

"We do not have roads as such we want to unlock this potential. We already have partners who want to construct chalets at Mtshabezi and someone wants to construct a smart city within the constituency. All this is aimed at unlocking the tourism potential.

"Finally, on agriculture and mining, I want those two areas to be sanitized. There are too many places (land) that are not utilised in Umzingwane and I am not comfortable at all. We want to see green as it used to be back in the day. We should be having orchards, citrus fruits, horticulture and poultry. There are so many things that can be produced here but people are just sitting. We need to change mindsets and resuscitate irrigation schemes," he said.

Brig Gen (Rtd) Mayihlome's tenure saw a number of developments being initiated. These included the expansion of Esigodini District Hospital which is still underway, sourcing of an off-road vehicle and equipping of police base stations. He restored electricity in over 20 schools that had broken or vandalised transformers, five high schools, which are Silobi, Swazi, Mvuthu, Sihlengeni, Mawabeni and Dula. They were also equipped with science laboratories.

Through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), he supported the construction of clinics and schools which are Shale, Ntshamathe and Nsezi, Malilangwe and Bonjeni Primary Schools.

"Under the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) programme we electrified Shale, Mbizingwe and Tshalimbe Clinics and Zhilo Primary School as well as Kumbudzi, Bezha, Dula Business Centres. At Mawabeni Business Centre, a communication information centre is almost 95 percent complete, while 50 bags of cement were recently donated for the construction of a police base at the same business centre.

"Although we are so close to Bulawayo, because of the mountainous terrain, we have serious cellphone, TV and radio network challenges. To mitigate the situation, in conjunction with POTRAZ and private sector friends, we have provided over 35 schools with internet connectivity. More work still needs to be done to provide comprehensive cellular, TV and Radio network coverage to the whole district. We have revived Portbury and Zimbili irrigation schemes, but this is only the beginning of our turning Umzingwane green initiative," he said.

Brig Gen (Rtd) Mayihlome said the ultimate objective was to see all commercial farms in the district green throughout the year while transforming rural agriculture into commercial ventures.