Insiza South, Ward 5 Councillor Ngobe Masonga, has commended his constituents for their strong commitment to self-driven development, saying the ward is making impressive progress through cooperation and collective effort.
Masonga said every villager is playing a part in improving their communities, with notable strides made in addressing water shortages and constructing key infrastructure such as community halls.
“Ward 5 people are very easy to work with because they are encouraged by the development taking place in their ward, and they are really pushing very hard to see their ward changing,” said Masonga.
His sentiments come after residents pooled resources to purchase solar systems to power existing boreholes and fund the drilling of new ones.
Others have mobilised funds to construct or renovate community halls.
The councillor said the devastating 2024 drought prompted villagers to adopt a long-term approach to water security.
“The drought of 2024 taught us a lesson. We now want to stay prepared,” Masonga said.
In preparation for future dry spells, villagers from Thandabantu, Qhubekani, and Dandabagwa independently mobilised funds, hired private surveyors and are ready to drill boreholes using their own resources.
Masonga said the ward has also benefited from collaborations with the government and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) under the Presidential Water Scheme.
Through this partnership, four borehole sites were surveyed, and three were successfully drilled in Siyaphambili, Mabuze, and Sababa villages.
Two of these boreholes, at Siyaphambili and Sababa, passed capacity tests and were immediately solarised.
Each site was fitted with 20 000-litre water tanks, community taps and one-hectare fenced gardens with drip irrigation, creating vital Village Business Units.
“The community worked tirelessly. The units have been successfully planted and are starting to bloom,” Masonga said.
“ Unfortunately, the Mabuze borehole failed its capacity test and has been rescheduled for re-drilling.”
Beyond water projects, several villages are improving essential facilities through self-help initiatives.
The councilor said villagers in Mbabala and Somthoba are mobilising resources to renovate the Sidizibe community hall.
In Sababa, Qhubekani and Thandabantu, locals have begun constructing new community halls using local resources.
“In Shakwe and Dandabagwa, they are raising funds for hall renovations while in Mabuze, Mbaulo and Atherstone are jointly building a staff cottage in Mabuze village,” he said.
The councillor said the cornerstone of the ward’s progress is the development levy, which residents are encouraged to pay.
Masonga said funds retained from council revenue, under a 60 percent retention model, have been reinvested into water projects.
“I encouraged villagers to pay their development levies, which has assisted us in procuring material to solarise our boreholes,” he said.
The retention fund has been used to buy solar systems, 5 000-litre water tanks, pipes and fencing materials for nutrition gardens, allowing the Shakwe and Nyanga boreholes in Saphila Somthoba to be solarised.
Masonga said this initiative is part of a broader shift away from manual bush pumps to more efficient solar-powered systems that serve both the young and the elderly.
The overall development plan, he added, also includes rehabilitating all high-capacity boreholes after each rainy season and identifying low-yield wells for further intervention, a strategy inspired by lessons learned from the 2024 drought.