The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE is making great strides in electrifying rural public to improve the people’s quality of life and spur economic growth.
So far, 3 316 of the country’s 5 324 primary schools (62 percent), 1 637 of 2 213 secondary schools (74 percent), 1 217 of 1 365 health centres (90 percent), 267 of 289 chieftainship homesteads (92 percent) and 20 percent of rural households have been electrified across the country.
Of these, 1 882 institutions are in Manicaland, with 286 of them in Buhera.
The Buhera institutions include 91 primary schools, 54 secondary schools, 37 health centres, five chieftainships, eight agricultural extension offices, 39 business centres and 28 village schemes.
Last week on Thursday, the Madzivire– Bangure Electrification Project was commissioned in Buhera.
The project has seven substations and a total length of 44,32km.
It was funded to the tune of US$649 794 and will benefit an additional 25 rural public institutions, among them 14 schools, six business centres, three clinics and two agricultural extension offices.
The project has the potential to benefit 6 324 households straddling across four wards.
The electrification programme is expected to enhance the security of public infrastructure, reduce negative impacts of climate change, enhance food production, improve communication and protect the environment.
The growth of the rural economy will also be marshalled through the programme’s influence on various sectors.
Access to electricity also enhances communication through the use of the television, radio, mobile phones and the internet.
This, in turn, strengthens education and knowledge sharing, including disaster risk alerts.
Chief Nyashanu said his community has been dreaming of being connected to the national grid since 1986.
“It took us 36 years to realise this goal, and we thank President Mnangagwa for making sure this dream came true, otherwise it would have remained just a dream. It is proof of his undying love for rural people. The President has fulfilled one of his 2018 election campaign promises and we are happy,” he said.
Chief Nyashanu said electricity will improve the people’s quality of life and enable rural businesses to trade for long hours.
The former headmaster said schools lacked access to electricity, which is required to power computers and ensure internet connectivity, hence teachers and learners were lagging behind.
In fact, the rural schools’ ICT sections were inactive as computers donated by Government or development partners lay idle due to lack of electricity. Due to this, it was extremely difficult to retain qualified teachers and nurses in the district.
Bangure High School Lower Six learner, Emily Jaravaza said electricity will allow learners to read during the evening, thus enhancing their chances of succeeding.
Jaravaza said lack of access to smart technology had created a digital divide that was disadvantaging rural learners.
“Smart learning devices can now promote e-learning in rural schools. We expect our schools to have ICT labs with laptops, printers, projectors, white boards and internet to bridge the existing digital divide between rural and urban learners and put us at par with our urban counterparts,” she added.
As part of the national e-learning strategy, Government is equipping more than 8 800 schools and providing connectivity to the learning institutions.
Buhera Rural District Council chairman, Alderman Ngonidzashe Musakaruka said electricity is the golden thread that connects economic growth and social equity, adding that it creates an environment that allows them to thrive.
“Our schools and clinics can now operate at night. Clinics, businesses and households can use refrigeration to store medicines, food and perishables for sale. Nothing can stop our health centres from providing X-ray and ultrasound scanning services, which means improved health conditions for rural people,” said Alderman Musakaruka.
He said radio and television receivers as well as remote weather measuring and transmission systems will now enhance disaster risk mitigation, increase local geological knowledge and dissemination of disaster warning information in the district.
Buhera RDC chief executive officer, Dr Emily Chibvongodze said the project has the capacity to modernise agriculture, value-addition and beneficiation of agricultural products.
“It greatly improves the quality of life, for instance by revolutionising our agriculture through irrigation — which means better yields, higher value crops and greater reliability.
This increases employment opportunities, which together with value addition and beneficiation of the produce affects rural welfare and eradicates poverty,” she said.
Dr Chibvongodze, however, added that more still needs to be done in electrifying Buhera.
Mr Julius Machakache of Chengerai Village said electricity is a critical enabler of access to health care, adding that life-saving interventions are impossible without power.
“I am optimistic that this will improve the quality of our lives as a result of our children and grandchildren’s quality education and good health. We now need to adequately resource our schools, otherwise if they do not have ICT labs, they can’t take full advantage of the power in their classrooms,” he said.
Proportional Representation Member of Parliament for Buhera, Honourable Talent Matiza said rural clinics desperately needed electricity for vaccine refrigeration, lighting, medical appliances, clean water supply and sanitation.
“Without proper electric lighting, most medical treatments could only be conducted during the day. Emergency maternal cases at night were attended to using lamps, candles or torches provided by the patient, of which these produced dull lighting. Electricity is what this community needed since Independence,” she said.
National trees ambassador, Mr Never Bonde hailed Government for vigorously pursuing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Seven to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030.
He said in the long term, this thrust will reduce deforestation and climate change.
“Rural households are known for cutting down trees for cooking and heating, and are partly to blame for the worsening deforestation and climate change. We thank Government for electrifying rural areas as this will help in reducing the number of people cutting trees for cooking and heating.
“We will roll out a campaign encouraging the beneficiaries of this programme earmarked to save the trees and halt deforestation,” he said.
Mr Bonde said rural communities need to jealously guard against theft and vandalism of the electricity infrastructure to ensure that they are not plunged into darkness again.
