Beitbridge builds new clinic with Devolution Funds Work on 20-year masterplan begins
SERVICE is gradually improving at the cash-strapped Beitbridge Municipality as the Government continues to pour funds for capital projects under the devolution initiative.
Already, the local authority has started building a new clinic using devolution funds.
The clinic is being constructed to match the town’s growing population.
With devolution funds, Beitbridge has procured a refuse compactor truck, built a new primary school in the Khwalu 2 suburb, bought earth moving equipment, upgraded its ICT facilities and procured two service vehicles in the last three years.
They also built five two-roomed houses to address the colonial problem of crowding in the Dulivhadzimu suburb.
The new primary school built by the local authority is set to open doors for classes in the second term that begins on May 7.
Beitbridge town clerk, Mr Loud Ramakgapola, said the town’s population was rapidly growing, hence the need to match that growth with the provision of critical services.
“We have been able to address service delivery challenges through the devolution fund and now we are building a new clinic, north of the town to cater for new suburbs,” he said.
New suburbs in the north of the town include Tshitaudze (Ha Mangavha, PWD, Hlalani Khuhle area, Madinginye (new medium density) and Mabidi (medium and low density) located west along the Beitbridge to Bulawayo Road.
“The town’s population is ever growing and we have seen the need to increase our clinics.
“So we are building one in the area and we are almost done with the foundation. We expect to fund the project from devolution funds and complete it in the shortest possible time.”
Mr Ramakgapola said the council was also sprucing up a building in the Tshitaudze suburb to house a satellite clinic in the meantime.
The facility will open doors soon, pending inspection by authorities from the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
At the moment, Beitbridge Municipality has one clinic and there are at least six private surgeries and the Premier Medical Services Polyclinic catering for the over 100 000 population and a number of people from the 15 000 who pass through the town daily, and may need medical attention.
With their 2023 devolution funds, the council managed to digitise services, buy solar power back up systems to ensure they offer continuous services and to upgrade the Local Authorities Digital Systems (LADS) for budget formulation and to construct a new clinic to improve primary healthcare facilities.
According to the latest municipality budget proposal, the council says it intends to build a ploy clinic, construct 25 by two roomed houses, procure a 20 000 litre bowser to augment the firefighting services, buy a tipper, a 12 tonne roller compactor, an ambulance, install public lights, buy tow service vehicles and drill two boreholes at strategic points.
THE Beitbridge Municipality has begun a process of engaging local stakeholders for a master plan that will guide development and service delivery in the town over the next 15 to 20 years.
The move is a response to President Mnangagwa’s “Call to Action” concept, under which the standard of service delivery by local authorities should reflect a standard upper-middle-income economy.
Outlined concerns include revenue collection and distribution, compliance with laws, and the leasing and selling of land by local authorities in servitudes.
It also includes leasing and selling of communal and agricultural land by local authorities as well as valuation of properties for rating purposes.
In an interview, Beitbridge town clerk, Mr Loud Ramakgapola, said they had since met a consultant, their staff members, councillors and local stakeholders to unpack their plans.
“We have hit the ground running in terms of fully implementing the Call to Action Plan which was launched by President Mnangagwa in November last year,” said Mr Ramakgapola.
“We engaged a consultant led by Professor Joseph Kamuzhanje to help us with our plans and are already working on the town’s masterplan.
“We held a very fruitful inception meeting with various stakeholders to unpack our strategy which includes the drafting of the town’s masterplan.”
He said the community and council needed to have a shared vision that would translate into improved service delivery.
“We aim to wrap up the whole process by the end of June this year. This is a very important document for us and hence we want to carry everyone along.
“It is pleasing to note that we had a full house and stakeholders from the Beitbridge Rural District Council, with whom we share boundaries on the east, north and west of the town.
As the town grows it will eat into the RDC area and we are, therefore, going to hold another sensitisation meeting with communities living closer and around the town. This will ensure that we have meaningful development with less or no conflicts at all,” said Mr Ramakgapola.
He said one major concern highlighted during the launch of the Call to Action was unplanned development.
It was important, Mr Ramakgapola said, for the town council and Beitbridge RDC to continue working together through several joint committees in addressing development and service delivery challenges.
Under the Call for Action concept, the modernisation and renewal of local authorities will be a two-fold approach.
First will be the implementation and/ or improvement in corporate governance, organisational capacity and systems to lay a base for a modernisation and renewal programme.
The second stage includes the designing and implementation of a plan for each local authority to achieve renewal and modernisation to a level consistent with the 2030 upper-middle-income economy vision.
President Mnangagwa has already directed the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works to work with the Public Service Commission and Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development to ensure immediate implementation of the measures.