Masvingo eyes world class city status by 2030
Masvingo City is upbeat of attaining world class city status by 2030 with the country's oldest town set to embark on major infrastructural projects that pivot the ancient City towards rapid growth and modernization next year.
Council is already in the process of ramping up daily water output to reachthe 72 mega litres mark, that is enough to cater for the envisaged boom in the commercial, industrial and residential development sectors. The street lighting system will also be overhauled next year dovetailing with plans to modernize the ancient city CBD with high rise buildings among other facilities.
Government's devolution war chest to the local authority has also come in handy for the local authority which has managed to upgrade roads in the CBD and suburban areas while also financing borehole drilling to ease nagging water challenges.
Masvingo Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa also credits devolution funding for reviving the stalled Mucheke sewer trunkline project and refurbishing Chitima fresh produce market and the main flea market in the CBD.
Engineer Mukaratirwa says building of a new clinic in Runyararo north westwas a timely boost for the city's health delivery system.
The socio-economic complexion of Masvingo City changed in the following ways; improved access to water in wards 3,4 and 10 as a result of drillingand equipping three (3) boreholes," he said.
"Women and children can easily access water from these water points whenever there is interruption in the conventional municipal water supply. Gardening activities are also being done at those water points. The vegetables are for consumption and also for sale. Masvingo City fathers are happy that the newly opened suburb of Victoria Ranch will benefit from infrastructure funded through the devolution war chest.
"There is now improved access to basic healthcare facilities as a resultof construction of Runyararo North West Clinic in ward 3. Residents of Runyararo South-West, Runyararo North-West, Runyararo West and Victoria Range now have access to this healthcare facility within the vicinity of their neighbourhood," said Engineer Mukaratirwa.
The ancient city is upbeat of achieving its development goals in line with Vision 2030 with Engineer Mukaratirwa saying there are many tangiblechanges on the ground.
"Through construction of trading markets, the city is contributing towardsthe economic growth targets of National Development Strategy 1. Also, by construction of healthcare facilities, the city is contributing towards the health and well-being priority area where the life expectancy is expected to improve from 61 years to 65 years by 2030."
"By constructing the Mucheke Trunk Sewer, the City is contributing towards infrastructure and utilities targets especially on housing developments since on conclusion of the project, Victoria Range can now be connected on the convectional sewer disposal system and hence migrate from the current sky-100 system," he said.
According to the Masvingo Town Clerk, everything points to the city becoming industrialized over the next decade, with the foundation of the epoch making development currently being laid.
"Devolution funding is consolidating the vision of the city of being an industrialized World Class Metropolitan City by 2030. The Masvingo City Strategic Plan (2021-2025) is aligned to National Development Strategic 1 and all the devolution funded projects have been included in this planning document for implementation during this period.
"As the country moves to NDS2, the Council will also revisit its strategic plans in line with the adjusted focus. Our planned improvements in the industrial sector seek to encourage production and hence more industrial land will be availed as well as supporting and incentivizing the currentindustries operating in the city."
Building of a new CBD in Masvingo is testament of the city's resolve toquickly attain world class city status by 2030.
“A new Central Business District (CBD) is also being set up to improve and increase commercial activities in the city and major works on the ground will be commencing in 2022.
"Major housing projects will also be implemented starting this 2022 to address housing backlogs and also construct modern structures that match the upper middle income status and also all these developments will be anchored on smart cities concept. Smart solutions will raise the standards of living for the residents of the city," said Engineer Mukaratirwa.
Devolution funding would continue to be the cornerstone of Masvingo city growth drive and Engineer Mukaratirwa believes increased funding would change the socio-economic standing of the city for good.
"Devolution has helped to engender improved service delivery in line withvision 2030 through the following; - Drilling of boreholes and construction of major sewer lines supporting the infrastructure and utilities targets .
- Construction of trading markets supporting economic growth and stability targets.
- Construction of clinics well-being targets, "he said.
supporting the health and
Adding more impetus in the city's manufacturing and commercial sectors among others would also pitch Masvingo's growth momentum.
"As the country’s oldest city, in the next decade with devolution funding, we see ourselves being an Industrialized World Class Metropolitan City. The key areas that require stimulation are the manufacturing sector, commercial sector, tourism development as well as water and sanitation upgrading, to meet the growing demand."
"The city’s low hanging fruits are as follows; - Housing Delivery - We have vast tracks of surveyed land where servicescan be installed and housing developments can expeditiously start. Health and well-being - the City has plans to construct an Infectious Diseases Hospital of a World Class status. The designs have already been done and the land is available, if devolution funding is provided for this cause, it will be easy for the City to deal with infectious diseases that include Covid-19 and ensure that the life expectancy increases."
Engineer Mukaratirwa says increasing water supply from the current average 30 mega litres daily output to 72 megacities would be a huge stepping stone to Masvingo's growth prospects.
"Under infrastructure and utilities, the city has planned major infrastructure projects with major priority on Water Augmentation, as water supply is pivotal to all other socio-economic activities in the city. The feasibility studies have been done and this year’s 2022 final designs are going to be completed in preparation for implementation. If devolution funding is provided for this cause, economic growth and stability can also be achieved as a result of enhanced development in the industrial and commercial sectors," he said.
"We see Masvingo in a decade as an Industrialized World Class City with major smart city features. Our major focus is to embark on the Water Augmentation Project and improve water supply to 72 Mega litres per day so as to support industrial, commercial and residential growth."
Masvingo city also has immediate plans to "upgrade the wastewater, solid waste, roads infrastructure and all social amenities to first world standards and to also have a modern and smart Central Business District with modern structures and infrastructure with convenience to the residents."
Capitalizing on the city's rich tourism potential is also in the city's growth plans going forward.
Engineer Mukaratirwa says the city plans to develop a hyper-active industrial area with major manufacturing activities.
This development will also be augmented by modern residential properties with high rise buildings dominating the spaces.
"We also hope to have a Masvingo City with high numbers of tourist arrivalsconsolidating the city as a tourism hub,” added Engineer Mukaratirwa.
The first steps towards achieving the ancient city's growth andexpansion plans are billed to kick off next year.
"In 2023, we are planning to do major water infrastructure rehabilitation works and also work on installation of new street lights to improve on the safety. These services are key to attraction of investments and tourists to the City of Masvingo, "added Engineer Mukaratirwa.