Lambamai community in ecstasy over development programmes

For residents of Lambamai Centre in Ward 20, Insiza, 2 September 2026 was more than a routine community meeting — it was a day when long‑promised development support finally materialised.

Under the late afternoon sun, villagers gathered for what quickly became a celebration of grassroots empowerment, with war veterans describing the interventions by Ward 23 shadow councillor Sikhanyisiwe Nkomo as unprecedented in more than two decades.

Nkomo - popularly known as the “CAA3 Queen” - returned to Lambamai to deliver pledges made during meetings on 5 May and 17 August. For many residents, the moment was not just about receiving cash or equipment; it was about seeing political promises turn into tangible improvements.

“Ever since we benefited these homesteads during the early 2000 land reform, I have never witnessed empowerment of this nature in this ward,” said Denis Ndiweni, the Ward 20 Lambamai War Veterans and ZIC4ED chairperson, standing in for councillor Ruzive Zhou. “She is an angel sent by God to lift up livelihoods. An honest leader who walks the talk.”

The gathering included Ward 20 Zanu‑PF district leaders and community representatives, all focused on one theme: putting productive assets directly into the hands of ordinary people.

Nkomo began by handing over 30 Spark Starter solar lights supplied by Virl, each valued at US$102. For a community with limited electricity access, the lights were presented as tools for extending productive hours. Virl agent Ntombikayise Mangena said the lights could illuminate a home all night and fully charge a phone battery six times.

She then released US$1 600 pledged in August - US$1 000 for a fish project, US$300 for the Zibuthe group, and US$300 for goats for the same project.

Farmer Nkululeko Nyoni, who had received a water pump the previous month, was given US$50 to buy a 50‑metre water pipe for wheat farming. His singing group received US$100 for entertaining the crowd, while poet Tererai Bwende received US$50 for his performance.

In a lighter moment, all men present were given US$100 for refreshments at the local bar, drawing laughter and applause.

But behind the celebrations was a much larger development footprint. Organisers said Nkomo’s interventions in Lambamai over the past three months now exceed US$8 000. They include:

A piggery package of five pigs, US$80 for feed and US$200 for a pig kraal

Five 50kg bags of road‑runner mash

US$1 100 for a youth livestock project

A US$900 motorbike for mushroom trainer Jacob Vaka

Ten goats for the Hope Foundation youth project

US$100 to assist a villager repaying a revolving‑fund loan

US$100 towards a field‑day lunch

US$100 for fish fingerlings

US$200 for passport fees for a high‑jumping athlete

Taken together, the interventions reflect a broad empowerment strategy spanning agriculture, livestock, youth projects, sport, small‑scale enterprise and household energy.

Nkomo told residents the projects were part of a wider political and development agenda centred on grassroots empowerment. “Firmly stand for President Emmerson Mnangagwa in all four corners of Ward 20,” she said. “CAA3 is now law. All that you see me initiating are projects. I am in full support of Vision 2030, and I am leaving no one behind.”

She urged residents to protect and grow the projects. “Let us promote oneness and lift up these projects. No foreigner will come to do projects for you. Hold fast to all that we have done, because a nation is built by its own people.”

For a community shaped by land reform, the symbolism was powerful. The homesteads created more than two decades ago are now seeking to turn land access into sustainable livelihoods — a challenge Nkomo’s interventions aim to address through fishery, livestock, wheat farming, mushroom production and youth enterprises.

As darkness fell, the newly distributed solar lights illuminated Lambamai Centre — a literal and symbolic reminder of promises delivered. Pledges made in May and August had, by September, become assets in homes and community projects.

For war veterans and residents, the day marked what they described as a new chapter in Lambamai’s empowerment story — one tied to broader national conversations around rural development and community‑driven empowerment.