Herald Reporter
A TOTAL of 3 349 boreholes have been drilled under the Presidential Rural Development Programme to ensure access to clean water and to speed up rural industrialisation.
Rural development and transformation will be promoted through the establishment of 35 000 village business units supported by boreholes.
Apart from that, 4 800 youth and 9 600 school business units, each anchored on a solar-powered boreholes, will also be established under the scheme.
The programme will see the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) drilling and equipping 35 000 boreholes across the country's eight rural provinces.
Apart from this scheme, partners such as Rural Infrastructure Development Agency and other developmental stakeholders are also drilling boreholes country.
Under the Presidential programme, 1 715 boreholes were equipped with bush pumps.
Also, under the programme, 331 village business units, 74 school business units, 27 chief's business units, nine youths business units, three vocational training centres, 178 solar-powered boreholes and 740 boreholes equipped with bush pumps have been commissioned.
Families can now access clean water from solar-powered boreholes and start community gardens that will improve their nutrition.
The boreholes will provide water for the establishment of horticulture gardens, domestic needs, fish ponds, orchards and dip-tanks.
Villagers across the country have already started benefiting from the gardens as they harvest and sell produce.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri said village business units were progressively enhancing rural development.
"Agricultural development at these business units will drive rural industrialisation, which in turn spurs rural development. Village business units have proved to be a game-changer for communities whose lives are being transformed in terms of food security, employment creation and enhanced income generation," he said.
The Presidential Rural Development Programme is part of the Government's Rural Development 8.0 initiative whose other components include the Vision 2030 Accelerator Model, Pfumvudza/ Intwasa, poultry, goat, fisheries, tick grease and cotton inputs schemes.
