George Maponga in Masvingo
Chiredzi Town is on the cusp of attaining municipality status by next year, thanks to infrastructural projects financed by the devolution funds, with over US$200 000 having been used to develop the health sector and road network projects.
Construction of a new polyclinic in Makondo suburb, headlines key infrastructural projects that are currently being developed, with town secretary Engineer Wesley Kauma expressing optimism the urban settlement was on course for municipal status .
Chiredzi, which is also Masvingo province's industrial capital, is undergoing massive developments in the roads sector with funding from devolution and the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme.
According to Eng Kauma, devolution funding has been handy in the building of Makondo Polyclinic.
"Makondo Polyclinic is being financed using the devolution funds and building of the facility is almost complete, we anticipate that roofing will start once we have taken delivery of 1 000 roofing sheets and timber that is required for the structure," said Eng Kauma.
ZINARA has under the first quarter released US$70 000 for periodic and routine maintenance of roads in the new Makondo suburb, which is home to more than 3 500 high density properties.
Opening of the new suburb has also greatly reduced the housing backlog in Chiredzi Town.
"The Makondo lay-by culvert construction will provide a link with the Ngundu-Tanganda highway and this will be an alternative for public buses. Council will then construct a 4km surfaced road to Miye Business Centre and Makondo Polyclinic that is currently under construction."
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Eng Kauma also paid tribute to the Second Republic under President Mnangagwa for steering Zimbabwe towards becoming an upper middle income society by 2030.
He revealed that through a public private partnership, enabled by the ease of doing business, which is the hallmark of President Mnangagwa's Second Republic, Chiredzi Town was also collecting rates and service charges from the new 106 shops.
The shops, Eng Kauma said, are operated by small and medium enterprises occupying a new state of the art complex built by the Zimbabwe Chamber of SMEs in the sugar cane growing town.
Under the deal, Chiredzi Town availed 6 000 square metres of land for free and the Zimbabwe Chamber of SMEs constructed shops for its members who are now operating businesses from there, widening council's revenue streams.
"Through public-private partnerships with SMEs, we donated land for free to enable building of shops for 106 SMEs in Chiredzi Town and Zimbabwe Chamber of SMEs built a market stall which they donated back to the council.
"We are collecting rates and service charges from about 150 vendors who were allocated operating space and what is pleasing to note is that previously all these people were operating from the streets but now have decent operating space," said Eng Kauma.
