WATER, health and education have been cited as the most pressing challenges in Tsholotsho North constituency, its councillors have said.
They also urged their lawmaker, Libion Sibanda, to prioritise these sectors when allocating the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
Councillors told Sibanda that water provision was among the top priorities in the area, with some schools and villages lacking access to clean water.
Ward 21 councillor Felix Tshuma said it was disheartening that some areas totally lacked access to potable water, a situation that affected his ward.
He said using CDF to drill a borehole for these villagers would be the most ideal.
“Imagine in this century we have a village that does not have access to water, there is no borehole, nothing. It is disheartening,” he said at a consultative meeting in Tsholotsho.
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“I hope some of the CDF funds can be used to alleviate the water challenges.”
Ward 7 councillor Jabulani Sigadula said most boreholes were not functioning and needed to be repaired to ensure an efficient supply of water to the villagers.
He said they would request for the flashing of the boreholes and fixing of those with collapsed pipes.
Ward 8 councillor Jazz Sibanda said their water sources had dried up.
Government has allocated each constituency US$5 000 in CDF funds, although the amount will be released in the local Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency at the official rate.
Sibanda said he was aiming at a transparent distribution of the CDF with a focus on the pressing needs in his constituency.
He said they would be setting up a committee that would oversee the distribution of the funds and selection of priority projects.
“Water access is the biggest challenge we are facing in the constituency and even if you look at those that have access, sometimes they have to walk long distances to get water,” Sibanda said.
“In terms of education, we had several schools that required repairing after they had their roofs blown off, so we have to look at that too, while health facilities also have severe challenges and it’s something we feel needs to be addressed.”
He said giving a facelift to Tsholotsho Centre was also among his priorities under the CDF programme.
Parliament set November 30 as the deadline for the submission of CDF plans by MPs.