QHUBEKANI Village in Ward 5, Insiza South, has received a major boost after the Church of Christ intervened to address long-standing water shortages, while also supporting a community garden aimed at improving food security and livelihoods.
The intervention includes four JoJo tanks, a solar-powered pumping system and a drip irrigation scheme designed to help the community withstand prolonged dry conditions.
The garden project is expected to have about 50 members and will be managed by a committee chaired by Bishop Moyo.
Qhubekani has historically been considered a dry area, with previous attempts to locate underground water proving unsuccessful. The community had been relying on two seasonal boreholes, both of which dried up completely in 2024, leaving 125 households under Village Head Thabani Msengi without a reliable source of clean water, according to Ward 5 Councillor Ngobe Masonga.
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Masonga said residents were forced to walk about eight kilometres to fetch water from a borehole in neighbouring Mabhanti Village in Siyaphambili.
Although Qhubekani is surrounded by communities including Sababa, Thandabantu, Siyaphambili and Somthoba, the village has historically experienced more severe water shortages than its neighbours.
Masonga said the Church of Christ, which has a significant number of congregants in the area, took note of the community’s challenges and intervened.
“The project faced an initial delay as the first two drilling attempts yielded limited water capacity. Success was reached on the third trial, where a viable water table was struck at a depth of 40 metres,” Masonga said.
“The borehole subsequently underwent a rigorous 48-hour continuous testing phase, successfully passing all flow-rate requirements,” he added.
To ensure community participation and oversight, local leaders convened an all-stakeholders meeting chaired by Masonga. The meeting brought together village heads, Agritex officers, community members and church representatives to integrate the project into local development plans.
“We accepted the donation as a community,” Masonga said.
“The land has been prepared, fencing has been done, JoJo tanks installed, and the programme is going well. We would like to thank this initiative brought by this church.”
The water infrastructure will also support the community garden, where about 50 members are expected to grow crops using the drip irrigation system.
The project is intended to strengthen household food security and provide community members with an opportunity to generate income from agricultural production, particularly as the area continues to experience drought conditions.
The garden will be overseen by a committee chaired by Bishop Moyo, with members expected to participate in managing the project and maintaining the infrastructure.
The church’s intervention comes as the local authority is also working on an independent borehole project for the community.
Masonga confirmed that the council was drilling a borehole using funds from the Ward Retention Fund as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of the El Niño-induced drought.
“We are faced with El Niño. As the councillor, I am in the programme of drilling a borehole for my community using the Ward Retention Fund,” Masonga said.
“It is now at an advanced stage; paperwork and tendering has been done, and the council is waiting for the person who won the tender to come and drill.”
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