daniel chigunwe
Victor Maphosa
Mashonaland East Bureau
Chikomba Rural District Council chief executive officer Mr Bullen Chiwara has commended President Mnangagwa for the local authorities guiding blueprint of a “ call to action, no compromise to service delivery”.
This call is pivotal in the development of districts across the country and Mr Chiwara said the blue print had further guided Chikomba Rural District Council to implement developmental projects last year, supported by devolution funds.
In an interview with The Herald , Mr Chiwara said under the Second Republic, the district had witnessed immense development which culminated in uplifting the livelihoods residents through an improved service delivery trajectory.
This year the council would continue to bring critical services closer to the people.
“Firstly, I would like to thank the Second Republic for coming up with the ‘call to action, no compromise to service delivery” blue print which was enunciated by President Mnangagwa to set the tone for service delivery, and guiding each local authority in the service delivery mandate.
“For 2025, we have told ourselves that we need to keep moving forward in terms of service delivery that has been appreciated by our residents, but we still see gaps in the education and health provision, particularly in the resettlement areas.
“We need to construct more classroom blocks there since these areas have not been receiving these services since the onset of the land reform,” he said.
Going forward, council would decentralise services by establishing sub offices in business centres dotted across Chikomba district for the benefit of ratepayers.
“We are also looking forward to decentralising services that are offered by council. So we will be setting up sub offices across the district, especially in places like Masasa, Nharira and Featherstone. Also housing provision is our priority in those same areas. As we need to bring services close to the people, we do not want people to keep moving to Chivhu and Sadza, we want growth to go to the people so that all the services that are found in Chivhu are also found in smaller business centres.
“Riding on the Manhize iron and steel project, we also need to look at industrialising our town and making it a logistics hub so that the supply of goods and services to the mine are found in Chivhu. We are a central place and distribution of goods can be easily done across the country, not only across the country but across the region. As you can see, we are a getaway to Mozambique, to South Africa, Botswana and even Zambia. So we will ride on those competitive advantages and make sure we grow our district and our town of Chivhu in a way that we can also win.”
He said Chivhu town is benefiting more in terms of development and investments courtesy of the rehabilitated Harare-Masvingo-Beit Bridge highway.
“When you come into Chivhu from Harare, one can see that there is a lot of construction taking place. This has been brought about by the Harare-Masvingo highway which has been revamped. People are now looking at investing along the highway by setting up proper facilities for travellers who are passing through Chivhu.
“We have for example small and medium enterprise complex which we are partnering with the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise to make sure that the space for our SMEs is also provided because most of our people are self-employed. If the space for these people is provided, then we are making sure we are taking care of those grassroots businesses so that they can grow.
“There are other big companies such OK Mart and Eat n Lick along the highway, we are looking for other potential investors so that we become bigger and better as we move forward.”
Meanwhile, residents of Chikomba district have commended the Second Republic for various life changing developmental projects in the district.
They also saluted Chikomba Rural District Council for channelling devolution and its own funds towards improving service delivery for the benefit of everyone thereby ensuring that no one and no pace is left behind.
“Our local authority has implemented programmes supported by devolution funds. These projects include construction of school blocks as well as clinics in various wards. This has improved service delivery as more people are benefiting. More schools means classrooms are decongested. Also learners will not have to walk for a long distance to school.
“We have now a user friendly highway and this has seen Chivhu benefiting, thanks to the Second Republic. Because of that, investors are coming to our town to invest since it is along the major and busy highway.
“We also have seen the construction, completion and commissioning of Chivhu Dam whereby Chivhu town is benefiting from potable water. We have Manhize iron and steel project, where most of our youths are employed. So to us, we have seen immense development,” said Chivhu Business Community chairperson, Mr Maxwell Makurumure.
Ms Angella Chigaba, a youth, who is a member of Progressive Chikomba Residents Association, said the Government should be thanked for walking the talk in as far as bringing development to the people which means no one and no pace is being left behind.
“We have seen an irrigation scheme being established in Chivhu and a lot of people are benefiting. Our local authority is working around the clock to ensure service delivery is not compromised. We are happy as resident’s and we are optimistic that 2025 will be a better year for us,” she said
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