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Elita Chikwati recently in Gwanda
Wearing a blue work suit, black safety shoes and a green doek, 56-year-old grandmother of five, Mrs Regina Zhou of Ngoma Village in Gwanda, is busy working on the Shanyangwe-Ngoma-Sitakeni Road. She wakes up at 5am, carries out her household chores and prepares food for her grandchildren before leaving for work at the construction site.

Her duties include carrying stones, gravel, cement and water.
She works up to lunch time, when another shift comes in.
Mrs Zhou is one of the Gwanda community members who have been employed as casual labourers to assist in the construction of an 18km road, including a bridge, by the District Development Fund Public (DDF).

DDF is a Government department under the office of the President tasked with the development and maintenance of infrastructure, water supplies, road services, hire of plant and equipment, and tillage services.

These projects are being implemented in all parts of the country including areas hit by Cyclone Idai and the drought.
The projects have brought relief to people facing water shortages, whose irrigation schemes were no longer functional and those who were facing challenges in accessing services due to the absence of roads.

In Ngoma Village, DDF is constructing roads, drilling boreholes and constructing an Early Childhood Development block at Ngoma Primary School.

The department has employed locals between the age of 18 and 60 years who are food insecure but have labour to offer.
The locals are benefitting under the food for assets or food for work programme through the public works projects.

Eighty percent of these people are women who look after their children and grandchildren using proceeds from the project.
The Gwanda community has been severely affected by drought and the DDF projects have come in as a blessing to the vulnerable community, who can now earn an income and buy basics for their families.

For Mrs Ngoma, working as a casual in the construction of the road and bridge is a blessing as she does not only get food and wages in return but also contributes towards the development of her home area and wellbeing of society.

“I am happy to work here constructing our road which is going to improve livelihoods of many people. I am one of the women working under this project. As women, we do not find the work hard. Women in rural areas are used to working very hard. At 56, I can run with a wheel barrow and perform all duties assigned.

“This will make me fit. Besides, I am gaining skills in road construction. This DDF project has helped a lot of people, especially women who did not have any source of income.

“This is empowerment as we can now send our children to school using the proceeds from the projects. We can now afford to have nutritious food on the table for our children while we contribute towards the development of our area,” she said.

Villagers in Ngoma applauded the DDF for the projects which they said will accelerate rural development and uplift the living standards of communities.

Ngoma Village has been experiencing transport challenges as few operators were willing to ply their route due to the state of the roads.

The few who were operating were charging exorbitant fares, forcing many people in the area to rely on donkey drawn carts.
Mr Jason Ngulube (69), who is the leader of the workers, said Shanyangwe-Ngoma-Sitakeni Road will improve accessibility to Ngoma Village and Dendele Irrigation Scheme.

He said the new road will also help patients get to the clinic early.
“We used to take a longer route when traveling from Beitbridge but now the new road will make our life easier.
“We used to have incidences of mothers giving birth in the carts on their way to Ngwali Clinic. It was difficult for ambulances to access our villages.

“Farmers at Dendele Irrigation Scheme produce perishables and it was not easy for them to market their produce. Now that we are going to have a state of the art road, ferrying produce to the market will cease to be a nightmare,” he said.

Mr Ngulube said the construction of the road will also enable school children in the area to attend lessons without any fear, even during the rainy season.

“Our children used to have challenges crossing to school during the rainfall season as the Dendele River would be flooded,” he said.

DDF provincial engineering technician, Mr Joseph Dube said the road is being constructed under the 100-day cycle programme.

“We are doing nine kilometres during the first 100 days and the remaining nine kilometres during the second phase.
“So far we have done 20 percent with assistance from the members of the community who are employed on the project. We have 80 percent women and they are doing well.

“Some of our casuals are elders and they help in instilling discipline. The community is very co-operative and by working together on the projects they will have a sense of ownership and they guard jealously their infrastructure. This means that the infrastructure will be well maintained,” he said.