VP Mujuru calls for more development in Hwange

VICE-President Joice Mujuru's call for more development in Hwange District several years ago apparently fell on deaf ears.She said the area was endowed with many natural resources, which were being harnessed by people from other regions while those from the district were living in abject poverty. To date, dwellers in parts of the district, Hwange West constituency, still live in abject poverty as their representative has not made significant strides to develop the area.
Food insecurity remains a problem as efforts to establish an irrigation scheme in the constituency under the Zambezi Green Valley Development project remain in limbo.
Constituents in the area said development linked to the irrigation scheme came to a screeching halt after the project director, Mr Junior Junia Siankope, passed away a couple of years ago.
"We do not receive much rain and the best way we could ensure food security is if we had an irrigation scheme. We are not able to cultivate anything at the moment because we do not have any water.
"The problem that many people in Hwange West constituency face is that of food insecurity and the only way this can be improved is if the irrigation scheme is completed," said Mrs Keziya Dube (67) from Sialwindi Village.
Mrs Dube said there was an urgent need for the project to be resuscitated so that constituents do not continue living on handouts but rather work for their food.
"We need this irrigation scheme to be resuscitated because water is a serious problem here. We have been promised that something would be done but we now need to see some action," she said.
Mrs Dube said she did not know the MP for the area.
"The problem is that our leaders do not communicate with us. We do not know who they are. I do not know the MP. Siyaze sife singambonanga uMP," she said.The MP for Hwange West constituency is Mr Gift Mabhena, who was elected into office under an MDC-T ticket.
Gogo Esnath Sibanda (76) from Jabulisa Village said there was not any visible development in her area.
"Nothing is happening here. We just wake up in the morning, eat, and spend the day doing the usual chores and come night time, we sleep.
"We do not see anything new at all and we have stopped wondering if anything will ever change. If development comes, it comes, if nothing happens, then that is it," she said.
Gogo Sibanda said seven out of her nine children are late and she has many grandchildren to take care of.  Among them was a 15-year-old boy who is speech and hearing impaired and is still at primary school.
Gogo Sibanda said what she wanted the most was for her grandchild to go to a school with teachers that can teach him as well as understand him.
"I have spoken to the school head on several occasions but she too has not been able to offer any help. There is a need to establish schools that can help children with such disabilities in our area," she said.
Turning to their subsistence, Gogo Sibanda said she sold hay and seasonal wild fruits such as nyi in order to get money.
"We have tried to start a garden but it failed because we did not have enough water. We have resorted to selling hay and seasonal wild fruits such as nyi to make money. That too is increasingly becoming difficult because we do not always have customers. When we go to Cross Dete to sell, police sometimes harass us," she said.
Gogo Sibanda said although they do not have enough water to assist them in their farming, they had a reliable borehole from which they fetched drinking water.
"We have access to drinking water but because rivers are drying, we have to share the water with our cattle," she said.
At Lupote, close to the Hwange National Park, Mr Tobias Mdende (53), bemoaned interference from predators, which devour some of his animals.
"We have a reliable water source, our children do not have to walk long distances to school but lions have been giving us a hard time.
"All of my goats were eaten by lions. I only have a couple of chickens left and I do not have cattle," he said.
Intrusion from wildlife remains a problem for people living in areas surrounding the park.
However, Mr Mdende has a successful vegetable garden, which he established through the help of a non-governmental organisation operating in the area.
"I managed to get good vegetables this time around. We use a nearby borehole to water the vegetables," he said.
Mr Mdende said there had not been much development over the years although a number of helpful projects have been implemented.
"People are now receiving anti-retroviral treatment for free but I have realised that although these people are getting treatment, they do not have enough food.
Constituents cannot be on such treatment and not have food. Non-governmental organisations used to give people food but they have since stopped," he said.
Mr Mdende said his children do not travel long distances to get to school but the major problem was that of learning materials.
"Our children do not have textbooks to use. Uhlelo lwama textbook alufikanga kithi. Something should be done to ensure that our schools have textbooks," he said.
Mr Sibanda said many people from the constituency travel long distances to access medication. He said they had to travel to as far as Makwandara Clinic to access it.
"I do not know the MP. I am not sure of his name. He never meets us, asazi ukuthi uhlangana labobani," he said.
Mr Mathias Nyoni (52) from Kasongora village said their major plight was that of water shortage. He said because the water table was low, the nearby borehole was no longer efficient.
Mr Nyoni said many people in Hwange West constituency felt sidelined because they no longer received seed maize.
"We no longer get seed maize because they say we do not have water. We have big families to take care of and we cannot rely on food from shops.
"We also want to cultivate our own crops that is why we are calling on Government to finish the Dete Irrigation Scheme. This way, we will be able to grow our own crops and not have such a difficult time feeding our families," he said.
Mr Nyoni applauded efforts by Zinwa to provide constituents with tap water.
"The Zinwa project is the only development we have seen here," he said.
Close to tears, Gogo Elina Nyoni (70) from Chezhou said it was very difficult taking care of orphans who have a bleak future. She said nowadays, when a child turns 18 and they are no longer at school, they could not do anything more with their lives because of the lack of money.
"These young people need income generating projects. They need skills. We cannot just watch them waste their lives sitting around here in the rural areas. Give them something to do in order to prosper themselves," she said.
Gogo Nyoni said she knew the MP, Mr Mabhena, but had not come across any of his initiatives.
"The MP just came here soliciting for votes. He promised us many things but he still has not done anything for us," she said.
Mr Mabhena could not be contacted for comment, as his mobile phone was unreachable.