Source: Devolution funds change face of Masvingo | The Sunday Mail
Medical staff pose for a photo at Runyararo North West Medical Centre, which was built using devolution funds George Maponga
Masvingo Bureau
IT’S a wintry Tuesday morning and hordes of women with children strapped on their backs have formed a queue that snakes through a dusty thoroughfare extending into Runyararo West suburb, one of the most populous areas in Masvingo city.
Runyararo North West Medical Centre, a newly established modern health facility, is the rendezvous of the predominantly female population seeking medical care.
As the clock ticks towards 7am, the queue, made up of residents from Runyararo West and the adjacent Victoria Range suburb, continues to get longer.
For Itai Hwenjere, from Victoria Range, the opening of the medical centre, which also provides a lifeline for rural communities, was heaven-sent.
“This clinic (Runyararo North West Medical Centre) could not have been built at a better time because we no longer have to travel all the way to Mazorodze in Mucheke A or Runyararo West in Mucheke D, which are too far for people in need of medical attention.
“Even villagers from rural parts of Masvingo West constituency are seeking medical attention at Runyararo North West Medical Centre,” he said.
The facility is one of the flagship projects in Masvingo city that was built using devolution funds.
It opened its doors in 2023 and has a catchment of over 30 000 people.
“We want to thank the Second Republic for intensifying the devolution initiative; the Government and council entered into a partnership that has changed the face the health sector,” added Hwenjere.
Devolution has added impetus to Masvingo city’s plans to develop into an industrialised metropolitan by 2030.
The coming on board of the new medical centre essentially reduced pressure on Masvingo Provincial Hospital, which also serves as the province’s health referral centre.
The devolution programme has created visible footprints on Masvingo city’s socio-economic landscape, which dovetails with the national agenda of building an empowered, modern, prosperous and highly industrialised country within the next five years.
There are several other projects that were implemented by the Masvingo City Council using devolution funds.
The previously mothballed Runyararo West sewer trunk line project recently got a kiss of life.
The 7-kilometre sewer trunkline project that had stalled for close to a decade because of lack of funds is now poised for completion.
The project is envisaged to connect more than 10 000 houses in Victoria Range suburb to the city’s sewer system.
Residents in the suburb currently use ecological sanitation (ecosan) toilets.
Besides giving a sewer lifeline to the entire Victoria Range, over 200 houses built under the Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle initiative will be connected to the city’s sewer system, while other planned housing developments in the Jairos Jiri area will also have leeway for being connected, thanks to devolution funding.
The devolution kitty has also been used to ease biting water challenges across suburbs such as Rujeko and Mucheke through installation of solarised boreholes to ensure potable water.
Further, new and upgraded vending markets have been opened at Sisk, Chitima Market, enabling traders to have clean and spacious operating spaces.
This also allows the local authority to collect rates from them.
Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance spokesperson Mr Godfrey Mutimba hailed the Government for financing implementation of projects that have a direct bearing on the lives of residents through devolution funds.
“As the biggest residents’ representative body in Masvingo city, we want to commend the Government for disbursing devolution funds to our local authority, which has, in turn, enabled the council to embark on a number of game-changing projects that are helping vulnerable residents,” he said.
“We want to commend the Masvingo City Council for using those devolution funds to construct and complete projects like Runyararo North West Clinic, which is now helping hundreds of previously marginalised residents to access health services more easily.”
What makes the new health facility more critical and timely is a maternity wing that is likely to reduce pressure on Masvingo Provincial Hospital, which used to cater for the whole province.
The vending markets built at Sisk, Mr Mutimba said, have created a better operating environment for vendors, who previously worked in congested workspaces.
Masvingo Informal Traders Association president Mr Gilbert Chikwata hailed initiatives that are being bankrolled by the Government through devolution.
“As informal traders in the city, we are happy with the increasing number of solarised boreholes, especially in overpopulated high-density suburbs where water shortages are rife.
“We also hope the long-awaited sewer trunkline project will be completed using devolution funding so that Runyararo West and the greater Victoria Range suburbs can be connected to the city’s sewer system.”
Mr Chikwata said the local authority should be applauded for conducting an exhaustive consultative process with residents for consensus on priority projects.
Masvingo Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa hailed the Second Republic for putting wind in the sails of the devolution initiative.
The city is eyeing world-class city status by 2030.
“We want to pay tribute to President Mnangagwa and the Second Republic for unlocking additional funding for local authorities through devolution funding, which is helping us to finance some high capital projects that had stalled because of underfunding,” said Eng Mukaratirwa.
Masvingo, he added, was exploring additional ways of raising enough capital to roll out the water augmentation project, which is expected to gobble up over US$70 million.
The project envisages duplicating the current water pumping, purification, conveyancing and storage infrastructure to ramp up daily output to 60 megalitres to ensure uninterrupted water supply.
The council was also working flat out to develop a new landfill at Cambria Farm to end challenges with waste disposal, while the city’s streetlighting system is also set to be revamped.
Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira hailed the Masvingo City Council for using the devolution funds to implement projects that have an impact on people’s lives.
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