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George Maponga in Masvingo
The health delivery system is set to receive a massive boost in Gutu where clinics and piped water projects are being developed after the district received over $1,6 million from Government for devolution projects.

New clinics are being constructed while existing ones are being spruced up across all five constituencies in the district, which has arguably the largest population in Masvingo.

Besides health delivery, part of the devolution funds are being channelled to water and sanitation projects, benefiting schools and adjacent communities.

Gutu Rural District Council chief executive Mr Alexander Mutembwa yesterday said they received an initial tranche of $750 000 and another of $912 000 from Government.

He said the money was shared between all the five constituencies in the district and is earmarked for health and water and sanitation projects.

Mr Mutembwa said they have completed a piped water project at Bhasera Growth Point in Gutu East.

“We installed 10 000-litre tanks of water and there is now piped water at Bhasera where we also installed solar-powered pumps.

“At Mataruse Clinic, we did a similar project after installing solar-powered pumps and 10 000-litre tanks to ensure availability of piped water. The piped water is also benefiting adjacent communities.

“In Gutu West, we purchased building materials for the construction of Ndawi and Zoma clinics and also installed a piped water system with storage tanks at Chiguhune Primary School which is also benefiting the local community,” said Mr Mutembwa.

The Gutu CEO said a mother’s shelter was currently under construction at Nerupiri Clinic in Gutu South, while building materials for Makwirivindi Clinic in Chiwara communal lands have since been purchased from devolution funds.

“We will soon start building Nyamandi Clinic in Gutu North and we have already purchased the requisite building materials,’’ he said.

“Our target has been health, water and sanitation as we work towards improving the living standards of our people in line with Government’s Vision 2030.”

Mr Mutembwa hailed the devolution initiative saying it was a boon for rapid socio-economic development of rural areas.

He said his council was keen to expand into upgrading and development of new roads to enable fast movement of goods and people, but was hamstrung by hurdles in procuring plant and equipment.

“We decided to start with those projects that do not require foreign currency to implement, but one area we have a keen interest in is road development, but there is challenge in accessing forex at the moment to procure plant and equipment, which is imported,” said Mr Mutembwa.

Communities in areas such as Chiwara where Makwirivindi Clinic is set to be constructed, were walking for up to 10km to either access medical facilities at Majada Clinic or Bikita Minerals Clinic in neighbouring Bikita District.

The Second Republic is implementing devolution to enable communities to determine their own development agenda by having input on the roll out of projects that take precedence to them.

This is expected to position the country on a development trajectory that will see the emergence of an Upper Middle Income economy by 2030.