By Beatific Gumbwanda
CHIREDZI- With a series of droughts continuously affecting communities, Chiredzi Rural District Council (CRDC) has through its 2024 budget, embarked on a dam rehabilitation exercise across all the 32 wards under its jurisdiction.
The move comes as a mitigation measure against climate change to enable communities counteract droughts through establishment of nutrition gardens, fishery projects as well as the sustenance of their livestock.
Using devolution funds, the local authority have sited more than 20 dams from 10 wards budgeted for this year, with two dams having been completed in ward 5, where six dams are set to be rehabilitated during the exercise.
Speaking to TellZim News, CRDC Chairperson Aspect Mashingaidze said the projects were necessitated by the El Nino induced drought that left communities and livestock with climate induced shocks, which requires various water harvesting methods including rehabilitation of dams.
“We launched this massive project as CRDC on dam rehabilitation exercise as a response to embrace climate change which is now inevitable. Most of these dams were washed away by cyclones as well as siltation.
“This is also being made easy through development levies coming from the communities, with each dams budgeted at around US$5000, where we also chipped in with earth moving machines.
“These are some of the mitigatory measures against climate change to help communities in establishing community gardens, fisheries as well as sustenance of their livestock,” said Mashingaidze.
A local resident Cecilia Muchemwa applauded the local authority for bringing development which directly benefits women as they are the ones who are heavily affected by the effects of climate change.
“Water has been a challenging resource here and we need to thank the local authority for reducing the distances we have been traveling in search of this precious liquid.
“Our livestock will benefit from close water sources. As women, we are the ones who are responsible for finding relish, and this will enable us to establish community gardens where we will directly benefit from. Our children will also be occupied through establishment of fishery projects,” said Muchemwa.
CRDC is also partnering with various stakeholders towards implementation of these projects including Chiredzi North Member of Parliament, Roy Bhila who has been supplying fuel for the earthmoving machines.
