Staff Reporter
As a way of fighting the water crisis Palestinian embassy has donated a borehole in Epworth south constituency Ward 5.
The borehole was officially handed over by the Palestinian ambassador in the presence of the ministry of Agriculture, water, fisheries and rural development officials who insisted that the sanitation of communities are being measured by the availability of water.
Palestine Ambassador to Zimbabwe, His Excellency Tamer Almassri said, the first program of assisting Zimbabweans began in 2019 but however was affected by the advent of corona virus which put the world on hold in every program but however we are happy to assist the communities through various initiatives.
“We have drilled boreholes in 7 areas and we continue to support people in the rural and urban areas, this is our solidarity to the people of Zimbabweans since the life of many is affected by sanctions,” said Almassri
Adding on he said so far we have achieved four programs to date.
Ministry of Agriculture head of directors Obert Jiri said the initiative is going to improve the water and sanitation programs in the Epworth community.
Statistics from the ministry indicate that the construction of the high impact dams budgeted at US$1.1 billion across the country is progressing well with the flagship dam, Gwayi-Shangani, now 70 percent complete while Kunzvi dam is at 33 percent and Silverstone is at 22 percent.
The government allocated, Gwayi Shangani dam ($6.2 billion); Semwa dam ($2.8 billion) Bulawayo ($2.7 billion); Kunzvi dam ($2.1 billion); Vungu dam ($1.5 billion); Tuli Manyange ($1.7 billion); Ziminya dam ($1.1 billion); Defe dam ($1 billion); Mucherkeranwa ($600 million); Dande dam ($600 million).
Jiri said the critical thing in fisheries development is that they want to create a million-dollar export programme. He also said Uganda is now a major fish exporter.
“Development of fisheries will be useful as it will create a lot of money through exports. We have natural water where we can do fish production. This is crucial as it eradicates hunger as well,” he said Jiri
Some of the larger dams can supply clean energy, at least enough to provide for their pumping needs and the local communities.
The dams highlight the Government’s investment in strategic water bodies around the country. It is envisaged that construction of new water bodies will help support the switch from rain-fed agriculture and help food- insecure communities through provision of water for both irrigation and fisheries.
In an interview, Melody Chikukwa Epworth south ward 5 resident said the community faced numerous water shortages over the past months.
“Am very happy we would walk a distance to collect water, we used to spend more than an hour queuing in one borehole to fetch water and this was killing our precious time to do various household chores. Now I am glad we have water which is a basic need,” said Chikukwa.
The provision of safe clean water is very crucial in spurring community development. Water is one of the important production assets. Securing access and management of water is the major key of enhancing rural livelihoods.
“We all need clean water to survive and prevent the spread of water borne diseases. With borehole water donated by the Palestinian embassy to our community, there is now enough water in the community,” said Epworth, Member of Parliament.
