$2,8m for 100-day quick-win projects

ABOUT $2,8 million has been injected in various projects, while more than 2 300 jobs have been created as part of Mashonaland Central Province’s 100-day quick win projects.

The projects, which are spread across the province’s eight districts, are at various stages of completion, with most of them being 50 percent complete.

One of the major projects is the Chakonda Water Reticulation Project in Shamva District which has a budget of $750 000. The project, which had created 50 jobs, was 80 percent complete when funds were exhausted.

In Shamva, the resealing of Abercon, Main Street, Tipperary Road and Adams Avenue had a budget of $100 000 and 70 percent of the work was completed when the funds were exhausted.

The project, which had created 20 jobs, was also affected by the onset of the rainy season. Although most of the projects are progressing well, some of them are grappling with challenges ranging from access of funds, shortage of locally available materials like river sand in Mukumbura as the area has fine sand which is not suitable for construction to lack of support from the local communities.

In mitigating water shortages resulting from the long dry spell, Pfura Rural District Council in Mt Darwin has come up with a $412 000 rural water supply and sanitation programme that has created 250 jobs for pump minders.

The project is ongoing and now 55 percent complete, and will see 475 boreholes being maintained, training of pump minders and community-based management teams in 32 wards.

Seven more boreholes will be sunk under the programme.

A $450 000 afforestation programme was initiated in Chibuli, Karoyi and Kandeya areas of Mt Darwin, thereby creating 150 jobs for the local people.

The project is 60 percent complete, with $350 000 having been used so far.

Despite its noble object, the project is being affected by lack of support from some farming communities in terms of replenishing deforested areas.

Mashonaland Central provincial administrator Mr Cosmas Chiringa said as the parent Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, they had come up with a monitoring programme to ensure that all the proposed programmes were completed on time.

“We are very serious about service provision to the people,” he said. “We have designed a monitoring mechanism where we get regular updates from the local authorities and their development partners. Most of the projects are being funded by the local authorities, while some have partnered with other developmental agencies.”