The Sunday Mail
Debra Matabvu
BUHERA’s semi-arid climate has for years frustrated the district’s developmental aspirations.
Dividends from communal farming, which was the backbone of the region’s economic activities, has been on the decline on account of erratic rainfalls.
Climate change had made farming a preserve of those with access to irrigation.
Revenue collected from the few mining enterprises in the area had been on the decline and had for years failed to find its way towards developing Buhera.
Dorowa Mine, which specialises in mining phosphates, and Shawa Mine, which extracts vermiculite (a semi-precious mineral), have not contributed much towards development.
Poor infrastructure only added to Buhera’s reputation of being in the sticks, as the crucial road linking Murambinda Growth Point and Birchenough Bridge was in sorry state.
Healthcare facilities were also in a deplorable state.
However, in the past three years, Buhera has been changing, thanks to projects being implemented under the devolution programme.
Since 2019, the district has received over $22 million in devolution funds, allowing the Buhera Rural District Council (RDC) to embark on noticeable projects that have assisted people in the area.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Buhera Rural District Council (RDC) chief executive officer, Dr Emily Chibvongodze, commended the Government for following through its promises.
“It is very pleasing that the Second Republic is making sure that the 5 percent that is enshrined in the Constitution is being purposefully allocated for devolution. We rely on local revenue and at amalgamation in 1993, when rural and district authorities merged, Buhera did not merge with any rural council. We did not benefit from the equipment and revenue . . .”
Roads
Buhera is one of the rural districts in the country that had a poor road network. Virtually all the roads in the district are gravel and require regular maintenance. With their first allocation from the devolution kitty in 2019, Buhera RDC purchased road construction equipment.
“Our first allocation allowed us to purchase two tractors and one DAF truck, while the second allocation led us to buy two service vehicles and a commuter omnibus. Our commuter omnibus is mainly used for monitoring services.
“We have also bought a tipper truck, which is mainly servicing the ‘infamous’ Murambinda-Birchenough Bridge road.”
The district has also graded the Damba-Buhera road, which was in a deplorable state.
Health
The rural district council has constructed Mbundire Clinic in Buhera West. The clinic, which is fully fenced, comes with three completed staff houses, main consulting room, borehole and a septic tank.
Dr Chibvongodze said the clinic is one of the biggest projects in the district because for many years, patients travelled for at least 15 kilometres to reach the nearest health centre.
“We constructed and completed the Mbundire Clinic using the devolution funds.
‘‘Currently, we are waiting for its official opening, which is going to take place anytime soon. Prior to construction of this clinic, the Mbundire ward did not have a health centre. This is why residents of this area have been travelling for about 15 km to access the nearest health clinic. Thankfully, this is going to come to an end soon.”
She said in Buhera South they had worked with local legislator Joseph Chinotimba, who had already started a project to drill boreholes at three clinics using funds sourced elsewhere.
“We did the casing and fittings at the boreholes using the devolution funds,” she said.
Education
When Cyclone Idai struck in 2019, it affected parts of Buhera, as buildings at several schools were destroyed. To date, the devolution funds have been used to build new classroom blocks and reconstruct those that were damaged at several schools. One of the schools that benefited is Vhiriri Primary in ward 17, Buhera Central.
“The school had most of its roofing sheets blown off during Cyclone Idai in 2019. Besides roofing the classrooms, we have also renovated four classroom blocks.”
Ms Mary Masuka of Goto Village in Murambinda applauded Government efforts and said the face of Buhera had changed in a short space of time.
“We have been witnessing a lot of change over the past few years,” she said.
“Roads are being regraded, we recently had a dam commissioned and now some communities have tap water at their homesteads. For us, these are huge achievements and we would like to thank President Mnangagwa for his leadership.”
The Government has to date disbursed over $1 billion in devolution funds.
Chapters 14, 15 and 17 of the Constitution encourage local authorities to champion their own development by making use of these allocations from Treasury.
The Government has identified key pillars of infrastructure development which will underpin devolution over the next five years, namely health, transport, water and sanitation, public amenities, as well as education and electricity.
