News / National
Zanu-PF borehole campaign gimmick exposed
26 Jul 2024 at 06:36hrs | Views
Residents of Bulawayo are urging the government to complete the drilling of boreholes in several city suburbs, which they believe were abandoned after the August 2023 elections. Critics have accused the ruling Zanu-PF party of using the borehole project as a means of garnering votes.
In Mzilikazi, residents are frustrated with the delay. Jacob Magutshwa, the chairperson of Mzilikazi residents, highlighted that only one out of four planned boreholes has been finished. He criticized the incomplete state of the remaining boreholes, which were drilled during the election campaign.
Dzingai Kamamba, the Zanu-PF shadow legislator for Mpopoma-Mzilikazi, responded by saying that funding is still being raised to complete the project. He mentioned that the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) had surveyed and sited 13 boreholes in the area as part of a presidential initiative managed by the provincial minister's office.
Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Secretary Paul Nyoni was unavailable for comment at the time. In the meantime, a UK-based Zimbabwean had previously intervened in Mzilikazi's water crisis by drilling a borehole to alleviate the suburb's severe water shortage.
The city of Bulawayo is experiencing one of its worst water crises, with several major supply dams already decommissioned.
Earlier in the year, Permanent Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development Obert Jiri announced the government's plan to drill 10,000 boreholes across the country by October 2024 as part of an irrigation rehabilitation project.
The broader initiative aims to drill 35,000 solar-powered boreholes by 2025, with each province receiving three drilling rigs for the effort.
In Mzilikazi, residents are frustrated with the delay. Jacob Magutshwa, the chairperson of Mzilikazi residents, highlighted that only one out of four planned boreholes has been finished. He criticized the incomplete state of the remaining boreholes, which were drilled during the election campaign.
Dzingai Kamamba, the Zanu-PF shadow legislator for Mpopoma-Mzilikazi, responded by saying that funding is still being raised to complete the project. He mentioned that the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) had surveyed and sited 13 boreholes in the area as part of a presidential initiative managed by the provincial minister's office.
Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Secretary Paul Nyoni was unavailable for comment at the time. In the meantime, a UK-based Zimbabwean had previously intervened in Mzilikazi's water crisis by drilling a borehole to alleviate the suburb's severe water shortage.
The city of Bulawayo is experiencing one of its worst water crises, with several major supply dams already decommissioned.
Earlier in the year, Permanent Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development Obert Jiri announced the government's plan to drill 10,000 boreholes across the country by October 2024 as part of an irrigation rehabilitation project.
The broader initiative aims to drill 35,000 solar-powered boreholes by 2025, with each province receiving three drilling rigs for the effort.
Source - newsday
