VILLAGERS in Gwanda have been asked to raise funds to buy diesel to fuel a borehole drilling rig, with a local legislator appealing for assistance for the successful implementation of the project.
The development was revealed by Gwanda North legislator Desire Nkala (Citizens Coalition for Change), who said the government had provided villagers with a drilling rig through the borehole drilling scheme.
Nkala appealed to government to speed up the drilling of boreholes in his constituency amid concerns over worsening water challenges due to the El Niño-induced drought conditions in Zimbabwe.
The drought has ravaged the country, with several areas in Zimbabwe facing serious water challenges, which is affecting people and livestock.
In an interview with Southern Eye, Nkala said people in his constituency were affected by severe shortages of clean water.
“Gwanda North is basically a drier region and drilling boreholes in some areas has been a futile effort due to dry holes that have been drilled,” he said.
“This area needs reservoirs in the form of dams rather than boreholes. We appeal to the government to speed up borehole drilling to alleviate the water crisis we are facing.”
Nkala said the water crisis had resulted in loss of livestock after water sources dried up.
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“I would urge the government to open doors for well-wishers to assist freely without putting any conditions that end up chasing them away,” he said.
“The government has provided us with the drilling rig, but the issue is on the fuel for the vehicle and the casing, so we urge the residents to fund the project. We appeal for well-wishers to assist as many residents have little income to spare.
“People are struggling in the villages to raise money to buy just a bag of mealie-meal. So we hope to find other stakeholders who can chip in to fund the programme so that the water crisis can be alleviated.”
Nkala said he would engage the Gwanda Rural District Council to raise the funds to buy the fuel.
“The issue of water has greatly affected the residents and drought has made it worse. Residents are being forced to buy mealie-meal since they did not harvest anything in the fields, hence this makes it difficult for them to have any source of income,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gwanda Rural District Council chief executive Ranganai Sibanda has confirmed that the area is facing challenges in drilling boreholes in some areas.
“We have tried to drill some boreholes in conjunction with Unicef in areas like Mapane and they now have piped water. However, the challenge we face is that the areas have very low groundwater, which makes it hard to drill boreholes,” he said.
Sibanda said the local authority would continue to seek private partners to improve the water situation, which had affected the whole district.
“The area is very dry, but as the RDC, we will continue to seek methods and ways to improve the situation so that we can protect our people from dying due to water scarcity,” he said.
His sentiments were echoed by Chief Khulumani Mathema, who bemoaned the water scarcity which is forcing villagers to travel long distances in search of the precious liquid.
“We are facing a huge challenge as we have few boreholes. This makes people travel long distances in search of water and we have lost several livestock as the water is very limited,” he said.
Chief Mathema said the situation was being worsened by the failure by government to drill more boreholes in the area.
“The situation is unbearable as now the weather is too hot for livestock and people require more water, but we are unable to get it because of the few sources,” he said.
Chief Mathema appealed to the government to come up with plans to alleviate the water crisis being faced by communities in his area.
