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| A truckload of classroom furniture acquired using devolution funds |
Livingstone Mtetwa
In
the aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Idai which ravaged Chipinge and
Chimanimani districts of Manicaland province last year, the Chipinge Rural
District Council (RDC) has channelled a huge chunk of their devolution funds
towards rebuilding education infrastructure.
Chipinge
RDC received a total of $14, 8 million in devolution funds this year and the
majority of the money is being used to rebuild and furnish school which were
most affected by Cyclone Idai.
A
total of thirty schools received classroom furniture over the weekend with each
school receiving forty desks and chairs.
Speaking
at the handover ceremony at the council offices last Saturday (November 28),
deputy minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Raymond Machingura commented
the local authority for investing in education saying it is the government’s
thrust to ensure access to education for all.
“Many
schools were destroyed and damaged by Cyclone Idai and the government has been
supporting local communities and authorities in the rebuilding exercise.
“We
are happy to see that the Chipinge RDC has taken the initiative to channel
their share of the devolution funds towards education. Devolution funds should
be used on projects which help the communities and investing in education is
one such project,” said Machingura.
Chipinge
RDC is a responsible authority of 101 primary schools and 49 secondary schools
which are spread across the 30 wards of the district.
Chipinge
RDC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Blessing Mamvosha said that the local
authority saw it fit to invest in education since it was the most affected area
by the deadly Cyclone Idai.
“Cyclone
Idai left a trail of destruction and most schools were damaged. We are thankful
to the government for availing devolution funds which we are using to rebuild
and furnish the most affected schools.
“As
Chipinge RDC we were allocated $14 872 000 in devolution funds this year and we
are using most of the money to rebuild our schools. We have so far managed to
build a 4 classroom block at Goko Primary School, refurbish a three classroom
block at Charuma Primary School while the construction of a two classroom block
is under way at the same school.
“At
Mbire Primary School in Ward 6 we managed to finish up a block that was at
window level and we have already bought materials for the construction of a
classroom block at Samhutsa Secondary School,” said Mamvosha.
The
schools that benefited from the devolution funds initiative are inclusive of
Goko High School, Clearwater Secondary School, Chivhunze Secondary School,
Mapungwana Secondary School and Musirizwi Secondary School.
Chipinge
RDC has used some of the devolution funds to drill boreholes in the district,
purchase council equipment as well as construction of nurses’ shelter.
