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Bulawayo Bureau

THE Matabeleland region and the Midlands province are revelling in several major transformative projects undertaken by the Second Republic under the stewardship of President Mnangagwa.

And citizens say they want the developmental thrust to continue and Government has assured them that it will maintain if not improve on the growth momentum.

In line with the philosophy to ensure that no one and no place is left behind in terms of development, the Second Republic has pledged to continue rolling out transformative projects in the Matabeleland and Midlands regions.

For years, Matabeleland lagged behind in terms of development with several projects stalled until the advent of the Second Republic.

The region is set to be a major economic player with a huge potential to lead the country in energy generation, tourism, livestock farming and irrigation among many other projects.

Most of these projects are anchored on the devolution agenda, which promotes inclusive development.

In Bulawayo, one of the key issues that the Second Republic is tackling is the water challenge.

To address the problem, Government is accelerating the construction of Lake Gwayi-Shangani, which will be a lasting solution to the city’s perennial water woes.

Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube said the massive project will boost the city’s economic growth and help it reclaim its status as the country’s industrial hub.

Adequate water is critical in attracting investment and for years the business community in Bulawayo has been complaining about erratic water supplies.

“Government has made great strides in improving the education sector in our province. Efforts include the construction of classroom blocks to ease hot seating. Laboratories, ECD classrooms and special classrooms for technical subjects have also been constructed,” said Minister Ncube.

“To date we have 75 classroom blocks that were constructed, 66 classrooms converted into computer science laboratories, five classrooms were converted into science laboratories and four science laboratories were constructed.”

Minister Ncube said on the water challenge Government is working day and night to ensure an end to the perennial water challenges.

“The Gwayi-Shangani system will supply 220 megalitres per day to Bulawayo against a daily consumption of 180 mega litres a day. This is one of the signature projects implemented by the Second Republic,” she said.

Minister Ncube said several health projects were implemented to enhance service delivery in the city.

“The Cure Children’s Hospital of Zimbabwe was refurbished by the Zimbabwe Orthopedic Trust in partnership with the Government and is located adjacent to UBH. Government and its partners also built a state of the art health facility in Cowdray Park,” she said.

Minister Ncube said her top priority in 2024 is to ensure that the city’s service delivery is enhanced.

“I will be engaging Bulawayo City Council and other stakeholders so that we speak through one voice in terms of development. We cannot be bickering all the time at the expense of the people,’ she said.

Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Evelyn Ndlovu said her priorities for 2024 included employment creation, developing irrigation systems and empowering youths with skills.

She said the major highlight for 2024 would be the completion of the Tuli Manyange Dam which will bring an end to the provincial perennial water challenges.

“In 2024 we are looking forward to attracting more investors to help us create employment for our children who keep leaving the country for greener pastures.

“This investment will foster production in many sectors and help many of our youth contribute to the development of the province,” said Minister Ndlovu.

“Irrigation development is at the top of the list and we hope that the completion of the Tuli-Manyange Dam will enable us to create as many of these so that our people can easily venture into agriculture. We encourage them to even start with small livestock like goats since we have challenges with water but eventually, we all should have access to water.

Minister Ndlovu said plans were underway to conduct career guidance programmes for learners in high school in partnership with the First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa.

Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Richard Moyo said while the province is arguably the biggest beneficiary of Second Republic’s Development agenda, more still needs to be done on the road network to complete the service delivery matrix.

He said a number of key projects were completed this year which contributed to the province’s Gross Domestic Product and improved people’s livelihoods in line with the Second Republic’s Vision 2030.

He said some of the key completed projects include the Muchesu Coal Mine in Binga and Hwange Power Station Unit 7 and 8 expansion project.

Kamativi Mine which had been closed for 28 years following a slump in global tin prices has been resuscitated to mine lithium and has employed hundreds of people.

Minister Moyo said the new mine is likely to be commissioned in the first quarter of this year.

He said the Gwayi Shangani Dam is also expected to be completed during the first quarter of this year. “We have Lupane State University that is now permanently in Lupane, the provincial capital where Government offices at Welshman Mabhena Government Complex are being completed with electricity connections underway,” said Minister Moyo.

He said Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme is another project whose implementation was intensified last year as transformers are now on and meaningful production is expected to start.

Minister Moyo said construction of Lupane Provincial Hospital is almost complete and the first phase is expected to be commissioned in the second quarter of this year.

Also completed and to be commissioned is a bridge across the Mbembesi River in Lupane.

There is the Deka Pipeline which will have six outlets for communities.

“We had several devolution projects where schools and clinics were built in our different communities. Some of them we opened and we expect more  during the first and second quarter of this year,’ said Minister Moyo.

In the Midlands, 2023 ended on a high note following the successful implementation of high-impact projects some of which will be commissioned this year.

Topping the list is the setting up of the US$1,5 billion Dinson Iron and Steel Company plant in Manhize, Mvuma amid indications that production is expected to commence next month with the company targeting to produce iron and steel products by October.

This development positions Zimbabwe among major steel producers in the region and beyond.

The company is projecting to produce 600 000 tonnes of products in the first phase rising to 1,2 million tonnes in the second phase then 3,2 million tonnes in the third phase and ultimately five million tonnes per year in the final phase.

Other products that the company will eventually produce include pipes, bolts and nuts, smaller slags, rolled tubes, fences, shafts, wires and bars.

Net revenues are expected to be US$10 million during the first phase and will rise to US$4,25 billion under phase four of production.

The company expects to directly employ 3 000 workers in the first phase with the figure expected to rise to over 10 000 in the fourth phase.

Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Owen Ncube commended the Second Republic for implementation life- changing projects.

“Manhize steel plant is one of the high-impact projects brought by the Second Republic which we are very proud of. I am very impressed by what has been achieved at the plant in such a short space of time,” he said.

“The good news is that the company will be up and running beginning 2024 thereby creating over 10 000 jobs.”

He said the new iron and steel giant had the potential to turn the province into an industrial hub.

Gweru-based ferrochrome producer, Jinan-Almid (Pvt) Limited intends to commence power generation, with a target of producing at least 720 megawatts of electricity.

Jinan started operations in Zimbabwe in 2012 and specialises in the production of ferrosilicon, low and high-carbon ferrochrome.

The company’s capacity utilisation is at 85 percent with four of its five furnaces with a capacity of 7 000 tonnes per month operating.

Minister Ncube said last year a number of health facilities were constructed by both urban and rural councils using devolution funds.

Kwekwe and Gweru City Councils also received fire tenders which were bought using devolution funds.