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First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe

Nduduzo Tshuma Bulawayo Bureau
FIRST Lady Amai Grace Mugabe yesterday revealed that she has identified partners to work with at the Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme in Binga that has seen 100 hectares of land being put under the seed maize crop that will be distributed to all parts of the country.

Addressing the Matabeleland North Presidential Youth Interface Rally in Lupane, Matabeleland North last Friday, Amai Mugabe said after the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development cleared 250 hectares for the project, they put 100 hectares under seed maize because of water shortages.

The total hectarage of the Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme is about 15 000 hectares. Amai Mugabe said although night storage dams had been installed at the project, there were challenges around pumping of the water.

“When we saw that the ministry was facing challenges, I told Minister Made that we have identified a partner that I said I think we could work with and as I speak, yes there are 250 hectares that were cleared, but what happened is that due to the shortage of water because the pipes had no capacity to provide adequate water, we have a hundred hectares of land under maize,” she said.

“We are not looking at maize to eat only, but we are looking at high value crops, so we will concentrate on seed maize. Seed maize brings a lot of money.

“You will hear that a lot of seed will be coming from Binga. It will be distributed to other provinces so that they get enough seed because we do not want to import seed when we have the capacity to grow enough for the country.” The project, Amai Mugabe said, would go a long way in creating employment and transforming the livelihoods of the people of Binga.

“The people will get jobs and from the dividends of the farming activities, we will build people schools and clinics,” she said.
Amai Mugabe said they were planning to fully utilise the 15 000 hectares of the project in the next five years. She said Matabeleland North was rich in natural resources that could be utilised and bring development to the area.

“The land (at Bulawayo Kraal) is part of those resources that should benefit and improve the livelihoods of the people of Binga and this is the wish of President Mugabe. We will continue working, we will be coming back in August to check how our seed maize crop is doing,” said Dr Mugabe.

She said there were plans to set up factories to process crops grown at the Bulawayo Kraal as part of value addition and beneficiation as captured in the Government’s economic blue print, Zim-Asset .

“If this can be done in Matabeleland North, the same programmes can be replicated in other provinces, so we will go around other provinces to see if we have land and water bodies that are not being utilised so that we assist the people in improving their livelihoods,” Amai Mugabe said.

“We know that MDC want to make this place their playground, but from now on, they will not succeed in Matabeleland North. As we go for elections in 2018, we know we will win emphatically, but we can only do that by working for the people and establishing projects for the people.

“We do not want to be all talk while we sit, but we want to deliver on promises we made ahead of the last elections four years ago. That is what we are doing as the Women’s League, fulfilling the promises we made.”

Meanwhile, addressing the same meeting, Zanu-PF secretary for youth affairs Cde Kudzanayi Chipanga urged the completion of housing units for senior government officials in Matabeleland North, who presently work from Bulawayo.