Story by Providence Maraneli
THE people of Silima in Mangwe district have benefited from the Second Republic’s inclusive development programme which has seen the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) taking over the rehabilitation of the Fakanye Dam.
It is early in the morning at Fakanye Dam in the Silima area of Mangwe District and with the aid of a walking stick, Khulu Tshikwane Ndlovu assesses the situation at the community’s main source of water.
He has been leading the community’s endeavour to rehabilitate the water body since 2018 without success because of a lack of technical expertise and machinery.
With the Second Republic committed to the objective of leaving no one and no place behind in the country’s development agenda, the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) has descended into the area with heavy machinery which has brought hope to the community.
“This is our critical source of water and it services more than 7 villages, now after it was destroyed we tried to rehabilitate it three times but because we were using our hands we couldn’t build something strong. I thank the President and his government for this intervention,” said Fakanye Dam Secretary, Mr Ndlovu.
“We are dedicated to work at this dam and help RIDA so that our livestock get water,” said one of the villagers.
Another added saying, “We come here every day to help because we are committed.
“Our cattle were dying but now there is hope, if you look at the speed at which they are constructing this dam, we are assured that this year will be a different year with the work being done here.”
“With the kind of equipment working here we are so happy that we have been remembered,” said villagers who spoke to the ZBC.
RIDA is on a massive drive to rehabilitate dams and boreholes across the country, setting communities on the rural industrialisation pathway.
“We have several mandates within the province like we are here at Fakanye where we are rehabilitating this dam that has been a vital source of water for the people. It has bridged a lot of times and the community tried to mend it on their own until we saw it fit to intervene. We want to thank the second republic for ensuring that we deliver on our mandate and we are doing a lot of projects, road maintenance, borehole sinking, piped water schemes, and offering tillage service. This sets the community on a rural industrialisation pathway,” said Rural Infrastructure Development Agency, Mr Moment Malandu.
The government has pledged to transform rural livelihoods, with all the 35 thousand villages in the country getting boreholes and horticulture schemes.
